


Perfectly Strange

by BlueStarRigel



Series: Perfectly Strange [1]
Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Beetlejuice The Musical, Bonding, Family, Fluff, Gen, Multi, Plot, Possibly a little ooc during serious moments or life and death moments, hints at relationships between maitlands and bj, musical verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2020-09-28 20:22:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 103,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20431892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueStarRigel/pseuds/BlueStarRigel
Summary: It has been roughly six months since Beetlejuice dropped into the Deetz and Maitlands lives and left a lasting impact on them before up and leaving in the search for his long lost dad. Everyone has seemingly moved on, key wordseemingly, but Beetlejuice makes his way back into the picture so they don’t get the chance to!Beetlejuice is back and on the run! Mysterious and shady figures that have an unknown connection the Juno and her rein over the Netherworld, have decided to make BJ their target. Beetlejuice thinks he is in trouble for something completely different, however, turns out Beetlejuice has been poking his nose in places he knows he shouldn’t be. This leads to a visit with his favorite breather, Lydia Deetz in an attempt to hide from his pursuers and maybe our beloved Demon has a second motive in his reappearance.Read to discover the real reason Beetlejuice is back in the Deetz lives and the Maitlands afterlives as well as why it is seemingly centered around Emily Deetz death ???Upcoming ChaptersChapter 16 Up!Chapter 17 - Soon!





	1. Grateful

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fanfic, but here goes nothing!!  
Writing style might change as I try to make mine more appropriate format for fanfics and for the website,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A recap of internal feelings and relationships post musical, as well as the reintroduction to our beloved Beetlejuice into the lives of the Deetz and Maitlands.

#### Recap

###### Not Important to the plot, just for fun. Scroll down for beginning of Chapter 1!

It had been roughly six months since the entire Beetlejuice incident, however it had hardly removed itself from the minds of both the Deetz and the Maitlands. It was both an exciting and slightly traumatic week that in the end brought the two families together. Lydia was the most affected by all that had happened. She had gained a best friend, demon or not, and a new set of parents, a step mom, and a more stable relationship with her father. To say the least she was thankful for that smelly green demon. Sure he had tried marrying her, tricked her into almost exorcising Barbara, which she wasn’t entirely over, but she had killed him point two seconds after bringing him to life so she wasn’t too torn up over it. 

Lydia wasn’t the only person grateful for the demons appearance, although their gratitude is clouded by many uncomfortable feelings surrounding Beetlejuice and his… ‘aesthetic’. The Maitlands gained a daughter and two new amazing friends in Charles and Delia. Barbara and Adam were uncertain about how the felt about Beetlejuice, sure he was needy and a pervert, but they could easily tell there was a lot more to the brightly colored demon then what one might guess. 

Delia had a very similar opinion as the Maitlands concerning Beetlejuice, in fact it could be said she thought better of him then they did at this point. She was ultimately the most confused out of the bunch, but she found herself a family that hopefully wouldn't leave her like her first husband had. Or at least that is what she told herself everyday, accept it was finally starting to sound more true, or at least less scary to hear.

Charles was the most at unease about the demon, but he had to admit his life hadn't been as great as it had after they moved into the house on the hill. He and Lydia were able to forge a better relationship, he was also able to find love again in Delia, and the Maitlands, well he just adored them. The Maitlands were amazingly kind people and dictionary definition of good stable role models for Lydia, and together they were as Emily would have said 'Perfectly Strange'.

And 'Perfectly Strange' was exactly what what BJ loved about them, and just couldn’t keep himself away from.  


* * *

#### Chapter 1

Lydia was walking back from school, she had wanted to take her time to admire the changing leaves and enjoy the cool weather that teased the beginning of autumn. She had two major motives in taking the scenic route, she had wanted to memorize the trail back and forth so she could quickly navigate it with her bike and to soak up all the unnoticed beauty her surrounding had to offer. It was the highlight of her day, which is what drove her crazy. 

Sure she loved nature, especially autumn, but it was slowly getting closer to her favorite holiday and an uncomfortable date where she had to suddenly say goodbye to her mom. Lydia and her dad had made strides in their coping with Emily's death, but this was the first year since it had happened. And, well, school wasn't any help in distracting her or making her feel better. 

Ever since school had started she had found herself facing more and more struggles between school work and making friends. She went to a nearby private school for girls, her dad had enrolled her shortly before they moved to the house on the hill, but at that point in time she had more pressing matters to attend to then complaining about which school she would go to. The worst part about an all girls school was, teenagers are mean, but damn, teenage girls were on a whole other level, they were like predators and your insecurities were painted with big red targets. 

Lydia's mind desperately searched for something, anything to think about that wasn't her mom or school, or honestly anything that she could look forward to.. or.. Beetlejuice. She slowly slipped into a trail of thought that reminisced the week everything changed and she met beetlejuice. She began to reflect on those nostalgic memories of those carefree days her and Beetlejuice ruled the house on the hill. Sure it was nowhere near an ideal environment to be in constantly, but it gave her a huge boost in confidence she had needed. 

Beetlejuice had given Lydia a taste of freedom and independence from the adults around her. She discovered she wasn’t just thankful for Beetlejuice flipping their lives upside down, she genuinely missed him being around and there wasn't a lot stopping her from saying the magic b word. (All accept for her “amazing” self control) He was her best friend after all, and it wasn't like she had made any new ones at that preppy school.

Lydia chuckled, both sets of parents would probably flip their lids if she randomly decided to summon the childish demon. Well, her dad and the Maitlands sertently would, but Delia actually seemed to get along with BJ pretty well. Sure she was nervous and scared out of her mind, but it seemed like she related to him a lot at that point in time. 

Now Lydia wouldn’t think of Delia as anything else but family, but at the time, she openly voiced that she didn’t feel like she was and was uncertain in her role in their lives. Lydia guessed Delia may have related to the demon in his desire to be part of the family. Both were only involved with their respective families because of their job, Delia as a life coach and BJ as a “bio-exorcist”, but they both slowly became more involved as time passed. 

Huh, Lydia thought, the only real difference is she had given Dylia that second chance, sure she had to work for it, but they got along now, everyone did... Maybe BJ deserved the same, or at least she could use that as leverage if she could ever get her parents to agree to even talking about him. She laughed inwardly at that thought.

She had been walking for some time, she began to recognize some street signs and an old bridge as she approached her home on the hill. Her Internal monologue continued the somewhat lost train of thought from before, ‘and not to mention both Delia and BJ had the hots for their bosses’. And at that Lydia let out a laugh that put a little more kick in her step and brightened her less than eventful day. 

She had made it to the base of the hill and began to make her way up it as she felt her anxiety nags at her a bit, as if she had forgotten something she had to do. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, math homework, and her day went from dull, not so bad, to couldn't get any worse. Math, she hated math, science, especially biology, she loved, but math not one bit. She took a deep breath and let out a frustrated and tired sigh as she went to open her front door. 

She could hear muffled shouting on the other side of the door, which wasn’t too uncommon, she did live with two ghosts and a crystal crazed life couch for a stepmom. Both parties very possessive of their stuff and where they leave it. But, when Lydia opened the door, she was not expecting to see a certain neoned haired demon on the coffee table screaming like a banshee at her disheveled father. 

“BEETLEJUICE WHAT ARE Y-!” she shouted as everyone's attention immediately went to her, including the demon’s.

“LYDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

A series of crashes followed as BJ appropatly lost his balance and falls unnaturally on his face. A loud crack sounding from what she could only imagine was his neck. Before anything could be done or said, BJ quickly sat up on his knees and fixed his crooked head with a big o' grin plastered on his face. 

"HONEY, I"M HOME!" Bj loudly stated in a lousy excuse for a sitcom voice, he knew it to, barely making the first word out with all his giggles. And Lydia responded as any shocked teenage girl would do when she met the demon that tried to marry her to gain a mortal life, she burst out into laughter and dropped her backpack where she was standing before running over and hugging him. 

Strangled noises of concerns and panic soon left all four parents mouths as they went to separate the two and 'hopefully' corner or get the upper hand on the demon intruder. 


	2. On The Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dramatics ensue until everyone can catch their breath in order to make a 'reasonable' decision.

As soon as Lydia had made it into Beetlejuice’s arms he had instantly hugged her back, his longer arms wrapping around her completely, and hugging his sides. He used his hold to lift her up and spin the both of them around floating a little while they both laughed in joy at their reunion. 

Before a word could be said Charles jumped at the chance to grab his daughter out of the hands of the demon and allow Delia to gain a protective embrace of Lydia. Lydia cried out in protest of being taken away from her best friend and to being toted around person to person like some small child. 

BJs posture and expressions soon transitioned between one of protests to one that resembled a kicked puppy. His posture slouched, arms dropping to his sides and he presented them all with a pouty bottom lip and a bit of a wine that when along with the entire “kicked puppy" act. 

The Maitlands took the opportunity to grab a piece of chalk in order to open a door to the netherworld and to get in a position that would give them a better chance of forcing the demon out of their home, similarly to how they attempted to when they first met him. 

“Hey, hey, hey! I ain’t gonna hurt the munchkin! What's got allz yallz panties in a bunch?” BJ loudly and dramatically announced, soon putting his hands on his hips and cocking an eyebrow and the group of overprotective adults. 

Lydia let out a giggle at the nickname, scrunching her nose and sticking her tounge out at him in distaste at it, but good humor nonetheless. BJ responded with a genuine look of joy as a smile grew across his face. 

Charles let out a strangled noise at this before shouting, “Not going to- AUGH - WHAT” He readjusted his anger induced volume as he saw Lydia cringe out of his peripheral vision. “What business do you even have here, you - you, disgusting demon!!” 

“ WOW! Chuck, my man, I am hurt, truly, by your words” BJ retorted sarcastically as he traced an imaginary tear with his finger down the side of his face. He began rolling his eyes allowing his head to bob in the same direction. 

“If you reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllly must know….” BJ dragged out, exaggerating the sentence with his own body leaning back, while throwing one leg up to maneuver his momentum so he would spin around for dramatic effect. “I’mma running from the law” he scrunched his nose and eyes and leaned towards charles and gave him a boop on the nose before throwing his momentum back again. 

“No way!” Lydia laughed at this, thoroughly engaged and amused by BJs playful and dramatic behavior. She began climbing out of Delia arms, still a little surprised she had held onto her that long. 

BJ smiled widely, “Yes way! Babes!” lowering his head to her level. “Got some angry ghouls after me, for what? Ain't got a clue!” He winked at her and laughed at himself, finding great humor in his possibly dire predicament. 

Barbara and Adam had become distracted by his story and curious, Adam’s curiosity getting the best of him out of the two. 

“How do you not know? What did you do?” Adam inquired, forgetting that the demon wasn’t supposed to be there at all at this point. 

BJ jerked his head almost 180 degrees to look at Adam before the rest of his body followed. A mischievous grin across his face as his eyes traces adams entire body up and down. 

“OH! What to choose from!” He opened one side of his coat to have a long list of misdemeanors and other odd things to fold out and covered the floor. “I have done so much since I got to see you last cutey” finishing his statement by pinching Adams cheek and making a kissy face at him. 

Adam leaned back into his wife’s embrace in shocked disgust at the perverted demons odd attempt at flirting. Thankful it wasn’t as intense as it was during previous encounters, which made him all the more suspicious. 

BJ made a clicking noise and the long list rolled back up into his coat and he readjusted it and himself to face Charles and Delia once again. Adam and Barbara standing behind the demon, clearly left out of the conversation. 

Well, all accept for BJs wondering hand which found Adams right ass cheek and gave it a little squeeze before having his hand swatted away and hearing a yelp from both Maitlands. BJ attempted to keep his snickering hidden and under his breath. Adam and Barbara clearly un-amused but not as suspicious as before. 

“Now about our conversation from early.” BJ redirected everyone's attention to a previous matter that all were in the know about except Lydia and the audience. “How bout it chuck?” The mischievous grin still plastered on his face. “We gotta deal?” 

Lydia watched the hair seem to stand up on her father as he glared at the demon. Mouth opening and closing as he attempted to find his response in a way that wasn't too vulgar, but clearly got his point across. 

“What deal?” Lydia asked, genuinely curious. 

“Why the deal for me to hide out in your lovely house of course!” BJ responded fluttering his eyelashes as if he was just an innocent guest in their home. 

“No - No - NO!” Charles stated finally finding his words and shaking his hands out towards the demon to communicate the same message. “We don’t owe you anything! Your a danger to society and we would appreciate it if you saw yourself out. Immediately.” 

“While the danger to society part is true, it’s not like I can do anything, I came through the netherworld, not a summons.” BJ threw a sort of face that was a mix between duh and annoyed. “And hey! Can’t’cha let your _‘son in law’_ crash for a while” And at that he said something he shouldn’t have. 

Charles seemed to get even more angry and everyone, including Lydia shifted uncomfortably at that reminder. Even if it was a green card thing, the whole marriage ordeal wasn’t ok. Not at all. Sure Lydia could find a little humor in it, but that was from her own sense of innocence. 

Barbara soon followed Charles example of anger and she grabbed BJ by his tie. “Adam. Chalk. Now!” she ordered. 

Adam fumbled the chalk in hand at the sudden demands almost as much as Beetlejuice began to fumble his words. Adam did as instructed and gave 3 knocks opening the door. 

“Wait- wah- no- ah- what i say wat I say?!” BJ scrambled out, shocked, confused, and trying to figure out what was so wrong about what he had said. Damn he thought, this happens a lot more than it should. 

Lydia was the next to jump out of the anger or uncomfortable trance the statement had left them in. “Wait! Can’t we.. give him another chance” the last part came out a lot smaller then she had wanted. 

“What?! NO” Charles, Adam, and Barbara all protested as Bj let out an “Oh” sound as he finally figured out where he had messed up. 

“I know the marriage thing was messed up.” Lydia choked out, trying to find an excuse to keep her best friend from being sent back to the land of the dead. 

“It was a green card thing I swear!” BJ cried out desperately, feeling the grip Barbara had on his tie tighten and so did his air pipe. He let a strangled noise soon after. 

Lydia had it, an idea, a dumb one, but its all she had, she went with what BJ said and played off of it. “Come on, you guys know BJ is just bark and no bite! Like he said, it was just a loophole to be alive” she gave BJ a look as if to tell him to help her out or he was screwed. 

BJ looked hurt at the remark but soon caught on “Yeah Yeah, what she said. Plus…. PLUS! Lyds killed me like right after bringing me to life, I would call us pretty even.” He shook his head at his own remark and looked back at Lydia for reassurance. 

Chuck scoffed “No the hell it doesn't!” he walked forward to assist Barbara in throwing the less than pleasant smelling demon into the netherworld when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He had expected it to be Lydia’s, but to his surprise it was Delia. 

“Maybe he deserves a second chance.” She said with a mix of confidence and uncertainty in her voice. 

“WHAT?!” Everyone in the room announced, including Lydia and Beetlejuice at Delias unexpected statement. 

Delia seemed to cringe back at the response, but lifted her head at her husbands comforting hand touched her face. “What on earth do you mean, love?” Charles asked, concerned at her discomfort but supportive in allowing her to explain herself. 

“I mean, you gave me a second chance?” She said, a little pain in her voice, she was clearly uncomfortable having this conversation, but it was clear it was one she had put a lot of thought into. 

A look of confidence came across Delia’s face. “I wasn’t a part of your family at first, I was just a life coach.” She looked over at Lydia “Not even a good one”. She let out a sigh and turned back towards charles “And you gave me a second chance at a family Charles, you gave me a beautiful daughter and made me your wife and made me feel smart and like a belonged… and..” Tears dripped down from her face. "... and..." 

Charles eyes softened and he wiped the tears from his wife’s. He took a deep breath and looked at his daughter who had a look of concern on her face, one directed at her step mother. 

“I _suppose_, we do, in a way, a very small way, owe you thanks for bringing us all together as a family.” Charles said, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath before saying “And I suppose you deserve a second chance,_ ONLY, and ONLY if everyone agrees.”_

BJ jumped out of Barbara’s grip and hugged Charles, squeezing the breath out of him. “YOU WONT REGRET IT CHUCK O’L PAL!” BJ Cheered and went to hug Lydia. 

_“I said, only if we all agreed” _Charles addressed the room before looking back at his wife who was wiping the last of her tears away with a smile and walked over to embrace her husband. 

Adam and Barbara where still uncomfortable, mostly Barbara who was stubborn in her opinion of the demon, but they were moved by Delias words. Adam nodded, tears peeking out of his own eyes, which beetlejuice totally laughed at internally knowing Adam was a huge sap. 

Barbara looked at her husband and her expression softened, curse his puppy dog eyes and giant heart. “Fine, I am on board.” She directed her attention to comforting her husband and gave him a reassuring smile. “But we need to set up some ground rules if he is going to stay.” 

“I agree” Charles stated. “That's fair” Delia said with a much peppier attitude. The four adults soon joined back together and began discussing what those rules may be. 

Lydia and Beetlejuice didn’t care, they were far too excited. BJ picked Lydia up and began twirling her around and tossing her in the air much to her delight. 

Lydia began shouting each time she was tossed higher and higher. 

**“BEST!” **

**“DAY!” **

**“EVER!”**

BJ could help but laugh and cheer along with her. He was thrilled and beyond the stars that he gets to see Lydia again. He would have to be careful with the others, but at least he had Lydia and Delia on his side. _**Their** plan might actually work._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is BJ and this mysterious other have planned?  
Who knew BJ wasn't as clueless as he let on.   
Stay tooned


	3. Ground Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Adults talk while BJ and Lydia go outside for a snack and to play.  
Ground Rules are laid out.

Once Lydia and Beetlejuice had calmed down enough they had been asked to promptly find something safe to do around the house while the adults talked. Lydia found both humor and comfort that she wasn’t the only person being treated like a child by the overbearing parents. 

“Where do you want to go then, BJ?” Lydia finally asked as Beetlejuice set her back onto the floor to stand on her own. 

“I dunno babes…” Beetlejuice tapped his finger across his dirty chin before his stomach growled. “Got any grubs?” 

“You mean grub?” Lydia laughed. 

“No! Grubs, the slimey kind, OH! Or Beetles, beetles are much better!” BJ explained in totally enthused seriousness. Charles and Barbara were the ones to cringe at his disgusting appetite, but soon went back to the conversation. 

“Check the garden out back lovelies.” Delia chimed in before patting Lydia on the head and looking over at BJ who had leaned down expecting the same. Delia hestitanly patted the top of his messy hair and quickly wiped her hand on the side of her dress. 

Lydia laughed at BJ silly behavior and grabbed him by the sleeve and led him out the back door where Delia had made a little herb and vegetable garden. 

*Several minutes of digging and giggling at the crunching noises bugs made when being eaten later.* 

The two had made a small whole and placed a multitude of bugs in it, BJ leaning against the house and Lydia resting on her knees on the opposite side of the mini bug pit. 

Playtime was over, Lydia had questions that needed answering, but she knew she couldn’t come straight out with the question, he would make a game out of it, so she had to lead him into telling the story. 

“So Beej, thought you were gonna go searching for your long lost pops?” Lydia asked, bringing up his mention of Beetlejuice 2: left for dad. 

“Oh I did.” BJ responded un-enthusiastically as he threw another handful of creepy crawlies in his mouth. Several missing it and taking the opportunity to fly away from the insect hungry demon. 

Lydia couldn’t help but role her eyes at his messy behavior and lack of interest in her question. 

“Did you find him?” She dug deeper, however tried not to push the issue to hard. Deciding to fiddle with a small twig infront of her play along with his disinterest. 

BJ opened his mouth like he was about to say something and became quiet as if he was a bit lost in thought. Which was really out of character for him, at this Lydia glanced up, not moving her head with her eyes to give away her attention with movement. 

BJ’s hair had drifted to a darker green with a mix of dark blue at the roots, it reminded her of his purple and blue colored hair from when she first met him on her roof. She hadn’t paid it much mind, mostly because she had her entire life or death on her mind instead. 

A frown tugged at the edges of his mouth, but quickly reverted back to a grin and the bright green returning to his hair and the distant look he had refocused onto her. Lydia was both concerned and angry that his mood had changed so fast. That behavior was incharacter sure, but whatever he was thinking about wasn’t going to be shared with her anytime soon. 

“Nah, deadbeats are good like that, plus the whole void things makes it pretty hard.” He reached for another handful of dirt and beetles. “You get lost pretty easily, and wander into places your not supposed to.” 

“Places like what?” She asked, not following his same happy energy. Which to be fair, in Lydia's experience talking about bad parents and it being taken lightly or made into a joke usually was used as a coping mechanism. 

“Mm” Beetlejuice thought of the best way to explain this foreign concept to his breather friend. “Ya know how all them religions exists, imagine if all their afterlives were real, and you could play hopscotch around in em. Or like bunch of pocket dimension things like in all those movies.” 

Lydia blinked at the explanation, she laughed at his poor sentence structure, but surprised he took the time to think it through. He usually just assumed everyone knew what he was talking about. 

“So you played hopscotch from heaven to valhalla?” Lydia poked fun at his metaphor. 

BJ responded with an amused look and raspy laughter combined with the wet crunching sounds of him chewing bugs with his mouth open. Lydia had to hold her hand up to prevent bug guts from getting on her from his messy eating. 

“Yeah, You get it.” He wiped the wet clumps out of his facial hair. “It's a lot different from what you breather imagine them to be tho.” he paused. “And usually the spirits that stay there, REALLY don’t like it when a demon pops in” He snickered, obviously reflecting at his own mischievous behavior. 

“Gracious” Lydia responded simply rolling her eyes, not even daring to ask what trouble he had gotten into. “So, you basically get free range now that your mom is gone?” she inquired. 

“I was already free range before that, babes!” BJ grinned showing off his yellowed teeth that now had bug parts stuck in between them. Lydia made a gross out face at him, scrunching her nose only for him to reply by sticking his tongue out at her. 

“Ew no, keep the bug-guts in your mouth” She laughed throwing her hands up as he leaned closer still poking his tongue out at her. Lydia jumped up, quickly dusting the dirt of her dress only to be followed and by the gross demon, soon it was a game of tag or keep away of some sort. 

* * *

The chase escalated and at some point they had made it to a more steep part of the hill in the the backyard and Lydia lost sight of BJ for a split second only to have him appear out of nowhere. 

He playfully shoved her down the hill. She began to roll, grass covering her dress as she began to slow down as she reached the bottom. 

“REVENGE FOR PUSHING ME OFF THE ROOF” BJ shouted from the hilltop, jumping up and down arms raised high. Clearly referencing the day the first met. 

“NOT FAIR YOU DOOFUS” Lydia shouted back, getting to her feet. She watched as BJ stuck his tongue out at her once again, for like the 4th time that day and started flossing. 

“AH NO!” Lydia cringed and began running back up the hill. “Who taught you to fortnight dance?! NO! Stop it!” she shouted. Laughing hysterically. 

“Can’t stop the cringe, babes!” BJ replied, distracted by his attempts to switch to another dance he knew. Lydia had made it back to the top of the hill and tackled the distracted demon bring them both to the ground. 

They rolled over onto their backs, laughing and breathing hard at their shouting and unexpected exercise for the day. 

“Don’t ever do those dances again.” Lydia ordered between breaths. Laughing. 

“Not on your nelly” BJ laughed out. 

"Ew that so old, your so old" she scrunched her nose turned her head towards him, laughing. 

"Bite me." Beetlejuice said rolling his eyes and breathing out of his nose sharply. He turned towards her, pulling a face with his nose scrunched and his upper lip raised, showing off yellow sharp canines making a snapping noise with his teeth. Their laughter soon joined back together at their own silly behavior. Lydia loved teasing her favorite _old dog_ that had all sorts of _new tricks_, even if those tricks were fortnight dances. 

Before the two could get into anymore trouble or start rough housing over gross bug eating habits Delia opened the back door and called them into the living area once again. 

* * *

They entered the living area both covered in dirt and grass, or well in Beetlejuice’s case more than normal. Both still laughing at the outdoorsy fun they just had. 

Barbara was the first to chime in, “We have discussed some ground rules if Beetlejuice is to be given a second chance and the opportunity to stay.” She waited for a response. 

“Ok” Lydia breathed out and BJ only provided a delayed “whatever” accompanied by an unamused shrug. 

“First of all, no maiming, killing, or harming anyone in or outside the house.” Barbara announced. Beetlejuice gave a dramatic ughh and Lydia rolled her eyes at him. 

“Second, Lydia can't summon you to the living plane under any circumstances.” Adam chimed in. 

“What!? Why not?” Lydia protested. Mumbling something along the lines of ‘no fun’ under her breath. 

“He is insane Lydia, he has no business using his crazy powers on us.” Adam answered. 

“Actually I still can, or at least on y’all.” Beetlejuice gave a mischievous look to Adam and Barbara. “Oh and some minor stuff on the breathers that live in the house I, uh, we haunt” 

“What?!” Adam said a bit scared. 

“My powers effect whatever plane I exist in A-dog, we are currently sharing it” Bj threw his weight back and floated on his heels, sticking his hands in his pockets. He began to address the breathers of the room, “And the ‘Hot’-lands over here interact with the living plane some already, I can do a little of that to” 

BJ soon picked up on the fact the adults had become uncomfortable and clearly trying to plan around this new information. Lydia understood though and tried to repair the damage done. 

“So you can still do some cool tricks, but they don’t have the same effect as the did when I summoned you at the dinner party” Lydia asked aloud to BJ. 

BJ snapped his fingers, he gave her an impressive look. “Exact-ta-mon-do Kid-O!” he laughed “Hit it right on the head” A hammer appeared from nowhere and bonked BJ on the head. He glared angrily up at it, covering his now sore head before it vanished like it appeared. 

Lydia laughed at BJ proving his point and pun. 

Adam breathed a sigh of relief, but still kept his guard up at this new information. Him and Barbara didn’t consider the whole show he put on for them when they first died, but in their defence they were still in shock. 

“I don’t want you getting in the way of Lydia’s studies or get her into trouble. You will have a strict curfew in which you two can interact so that Lydia can get the rest she needs and you don’t do anything you will regret.” Charles stated harshly, realigning everyone back on topic. 

BJ put his hands up in a mock surrender and both him and Lydia rolled their eyes at his threat. “Would dream of it chuck,” BJ gave a tired toothy smile. 

“ You are to respect everyone's boundaries and spaces, and we will do our best for you as well. We will all need to communicate in order to make this work.” Delia added, making the tone a bit more peppier. “Other things we will address as they come along, mostly because our new living arrangement is new for everyone.” She added smiling at the two. 

The adults seemed pleased with their rules and Delia had covered the basis for possible new ones to be made and discussed on a later date. Adam and Barbara began to walk upstairs and Charles sat on the living room sofa to take a breather from the stressful day. 

Delia watched everyone go about their business only to return to two waiting children, or well a teenager and demon, same difference. 

“How about you two go wash up and watch some TV, while I go and fix dinner” Delia declared giving them a warm look before walking between the to get to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this one, I really hope you guys like the childish chase and references.  
The musical is set in modern times so I wanted to add some of the stuff I went through as a kid plus stuff my younger brother loves, which is the fortnight dancing and BJ is all about staying with the times so.


	4. Homework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shenanigans and a tender moment, all in one chapter?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra big chapter compared to 1-3
> 
> I will be fixing any mistakes later when I have a fresh pair of eyes. haha

Lydia looked at BJ with a big toothy grin, the race was on. She darted up the stairs to head to her prefered bathroom, hers, to wash up. BJ caught on but only gave a snarky chuckle as he floated through the ceiling to the second floor. 

Lydia turned the corner down the hall and looked behind her to see what trick he would pull. Before she could fully turn her head back around after not seeing anyone chasing after her and come to a stop she ran into a very stinky, partially slimey, and soft obstacle. 

“Watch where you're going kid.” BJ said poking fun at the fact he clearly planned this. Lydia steadied herself, but instead of arguing or throwing a snarky comment back at him, she wrapped her arms around him. She had already gotten a face full of his dirty shirt and coat might as well embrace it. 

“I missed you so much.” She squeezed his sides as tight as she could, so tight she could almost wrap her arms completely around him and join her hands. However, that might have had some part in BJ sucking in his gut at the unexpected tight hug. 

“Jeez kid, they feeding you steroids or something, when did you get so strong.” BJ breathed out, finding it difficult to process the affection he was receiving. 

“I don’t think thats how that works, but I am too lazy to fact check it” She laughed looking up at him scratching at his dirty facial hair. His hair had turned a more yellowish green with had streaks of white and pink in it. 

Lydia knew he wasn’t good at the whole affection thing, she found it funny that he dished out so many pervy comments and jokes to the Maitlands despite not being able to handle platonic affection. 

She laughed and wondered what would happen if anyone tried to dish it back at him. Honestly, he would probably love it and it wouldn’t end well for who ever returns his behavior. She wouldn’t be given that idea to the Maitlands anytime soon, unless they were getting on her nerves, then that, that would be fun. 

BJ breathed out dramatically as Lydia finally let go, his face turning to a more pale, apparently his face had turned an unnoticeable amount more red as he held his breath and gut in. 

“Alright kid, do what’cha need to, ya already know I aint that touchin ‘high-john’ stuff.” He began floating as they entered her room. Looking at his crusty nails as if he was admiring them. “Hygiene?” Lydia corrected, laughing at his pronunciation. BJ just hummed in response. 

Lydia decided to get a quick shower to get all the grass and dirt off of her and out of her hair, she hoped BJ wouldn’t mess with any of her stuff too much. For a demon that was a millenia old you would think he would figure out less destructive ways to entertain himself. 

* * *

BJ had been floating for about 2 minutes and had propped his head on his folded arms and crossed one leg over the other, bouncing it impatiently. He looked around the room for something to do, mostly so his thoughts wouldn’t wander into anything deep or would lead to character development, why would he ever want that? Emotions are gross. 

He turned over onto his stomach still floating, but with one arm supporting the other as his hand cupped his head. He closely inspected the top of Lydia's dresser where a mirror and some pictures and other items were placed. 

He opened a small decorative box and began to snoop only to find just what he was needing. Stars lit up in his eyes. 

* * *

Lydia finally got the dirt and the corpse smell off of her face and gotten dressed into something clean. She heard humming coming from outside the door now that the running water had been cut off. 

She opened it to find BJ similarly to how he was when she left him, but with his back facing her, still floating. 

“Hey Beej, ready for dinner?” She asked, not receiving a response. She walked over to him to find his holding her black finger nail polish and attempting to finish painting the nails on his right hand. 

She grinned, “I thought green was your color?” she watched him switch to his left hand, which is where the next problem lay, painting with your non dominant hand sucked. 

“Oh uh, nah, well yeah.” He responded, very distracted and inattentively. He struggled at painting the nails on his left hand. He finally got done with his pinky finger only to have had butchered it completely compared to his other hand. 

BJ only grumbled and lowered himself closer to the ground, still floating, clearly being influenced by his now poor mood. 

“Want some help?” Lydia asked only to watch BJ try and do the next finger, sticking his tongue out as if it would improve his nail painting skills. Lydia carefully grabbed the small jar of polish from his hand and then the brush. 

“Wah” BJ said softly, zoning back into reality. At this point he finally picked up on what was going on around him and allowed her to neatly paint his nails black on his left hand. He held them up above his face with pride once she finished. 

“Oh wait!” Lydia jumped and ran over to the same box BJ had found the polish in and dug out a small sheet of paper. “I have these cheap little nail stickers from forever ago,” She looked up and down the little slick page and she found it. Little green metallic beetles and some purple ones as well. 

BJ gasped and held out his half dry nails to be decorated. Lydia laughed and placed them on alternating fingers. BJ floated so high he banged his head on the ceiling and decided that was enough floating for now. 

“I don't even know where I got these, but they totally suit you.” Lydia smiled at the ecstatic demon who had walked over to her mirror and began making poses that showed off his new nails. 

Lydia took the moment of silence she was given due to the demons hyperfixation to think. Gosh he really was just a giant child wasn’t he? Was ever a kid? Did demons start out as babies or adults? Oh boy now she had all sorts of questions she knew BJ would probably never be serious enough to answer. 

Lydia almost jumped out of her skin when she was half way tackled by the demon. He didn’t float her off the ground, but he clearly had a running start before returning her hug from earlier. 

“They’re perfect!” BJ shouted too close to her ear. Lydia began to laugh before realizing the stinky corpse demon is hugging her after she went through an entire shower to scrub the smell off. 

“I am glad you like them, and no offence but I would like to keep smelling like lillies instead of the corpses they lay on.” Lydia pushed him away as nicely as she could. 

BJ’s eyes widened and he took a step back, “ah, yeah right sorry.” he forced out a cough at the last part, he wasn’t good with boundaries or saying sorry, it was a little embarrassing, he was a demon hell’s sake. However, BJ did have a lot of respect for Lydia and didn’t want to ruin their friendship just over his body odor. 

“It all good, wouldn’t ever ask ya to change Beej, just not rub any gunk on me right after a bath” she laughed “I am not the biggest fan of them either” she had walked back over to her dresser to return the sheet of stickers. 

Beetlejuice’s expression softened, God/Satan she really was the nicest person he knew, and no one was nice to him. Heck she was even nice to worms and beetles, anyone who is nice to bugs, no matter how yummy they are had a mark in his ‘cool person’ book. (Which he totally just made up to say her name was in it) 

* * *

“AH SHIT!” Lydia suddenly shouted and scrambled to her book bag. The Maitlands must have brought it up to her room when they went upstairs earlier. BJ snorted at her sudden curse and began laughing. 

“I got fu-freaking math homework, god I want to jump off the roof” She angrily mumbled, censoring herself a bit. 

BJ jumped up and began to float “Uh I prefer my BFF’s not impaled on a bird bath, thanks.” he retorted, floating over and peering over her shoulder to her open binder. 

Lydia gave a half laugh before sitting down on her bedroom floor and laying out several sheets of paper. She had finished most of the homework before school ended but she really didn’t want to do this last part. 

It wasn’t hard, but it took forever due to all the steps she had to go through to get the answer, and honestly she really would rather impale herself on a bird bath than do this. 

“Sorry, but unless you can help me with this” She jestered the unfinished answers “or speed up time so this goes faster, I am gonna need a miracle.” She groaned in annoyance at her forgotten homework. 

BJ gave her a shrug and let his head detached in the same motion rolling off his shoulder into his left hand. He held his head up by his hair and lowered it to look at the problems she had completed. 

Lydia had started to begin the next problem, not even halfway through all the steps before grabbing the paper out his sight. 

“Hey, let me read it!” BJ protested, head bouncing in the grip of his hand. 

“You can read?” Lydia sarcastically, half joking half serious. BJ dramatically responded with a series of noises that would imply he was offended. 

“Of course I can… kind of… but numbers are easy.” He retorted, glaring at her. 

Lydia roller her eyes and picked up the paper and turned it to face him. “Well, ‘Mr. Numbers are easy’ tell me the answer to this then” She joked. 

BJ looked up and down the paper, getting quiet. “That's what I thought” Lydia rudely added with a laugh and went back to her work. 

All of a sudden BJ listed off a series of numbers, most were not the actual names but descriptions of how they looked. (Ex: Eight is the “Infinity thingy” ) Lydia looked at him shocked. 

“What?” Lydia looked down at her paper and back at him. 

“Those are the answers right?” He asked genuinely, “I just plugged them into that weird pattern you did with the others.” He pointed at the two different papers, the finished and unfinished one. 

“Uh oh, um I don’t know, but we can find out.” She quickly jotted down the numbers he listed and packed her papers back up. “We will see what grade I make, I guess.” She gave a half nervous laugh. 

“I honestly don’t care if they are right or not, I hate math” she admitted. “But, why do you of all people think ‘numbers are so easy’?” she asked. 

“Oh, practice” He leaned back re-attaching his head to his neck. “Gambling, counting cards, etc.” he said listing things off on his fingers while he sat indian style next to her. 

“Uh huh” Lydia cocked her eyebrow at him. Figures. 

* * *

BJ and Lydia continued to talk a bit, mostly about BJ’s “Amazing Gambling Skillzzz” yes with 3 Z’s, he insisted on it. Delia soon called Lydia down to help set the table and BJ decided he was going to go mess with the Maitlands rather than help. 

Beetlejuice approached the attic door and pressed his ear against it. He could hear the two talking, soon he heard mixed giggles from the “Hot-lands” and his curiosity was officially at optimal levels. 

He phased his head through the door to see the two sitting on a coach that had been placed in a small living area in the open space of the attic. Their foreheads rested against each other and they were acting very lovey dovey, or “gross” as BJ would put it. 

A mischievous grin fell across his face as he snuck into the room. His body softly floating a few inches off the ground, keeping himself low and out of sight. 

The two leaned in for several soft kisses between coos. BJ decided to pull the same stunt he did when looking into the room and phased his head through the back of the couch. His head poked out between the two’s stomachs, which was about the only space the two had apart from their legs which were curled up beside both of them. 

BJ looked up from em and rudely interrupted “Got room for one more?” The two scrambled away from the unexpected guest… head? Screaming in terror. 

“What on earth?!” Adam shouted along side Barbara’s classic horror movie scream. 

“Ay! Where was that scream when we first met, Babs?” He announced. Detaching his head and allowing it to roll over to the middle cushion of the coach, his body standing up straight, arms crossed, tapping one foot expectantly. 

“BEETLEJUICE” The two shouted in unison. Barbara’s hands going to her hips and Adam placing his fingers on his temple, massaging it. Stressed. 

“Ey thats my name, don’t wear it out. Or do, I don't care.” BJ un-enthusiastically replied. Grabbing his head from the couch and tossing it from hand to hand before placing it back where it belongs. 

BJ soon placed a hand on the back of the couch and jumped over it to sit in the middle, spreading his legs and arms across the back of it, promptly taking up majority of the couch. 

“So what are you two sexy beasts doing?” BJ asked, looking back and forth at either Maitland at his sides. 

“Well we were having a tender moment!” Barbara huffed in response, very annoyed and for good reason. Who does he think he is interrupting them and their private moment. Boundaries Barbara repeated mentally, Boundaries. He doesn’t have any, right. 

“Aw, com’on Bab, I didn’t stop ya, y'all did that.” He flicked his wrists at their directions and an unseen force lifted the two up off the ground and plopped them next to BJ, their legs over at least one of his each. “Or we could just continue with three” BJ gave a pervy grin. 

Both Barbara and Adam quickly scrambled to move their legs and put distance between them and the demon. Adam scooting on top of the arm rest of the coach and Barbara jumping into a nearby chair. 

“Stop! That!” Adam shook his fists and closed his eyes in frustration. “Why are you like this?!” He whined aloud. 

“Don’t indulge him, he just wants attention, obviously” Babara retorted, fixing the ruffles in her dress with an annoyed expression across her face. 

“Aw A-Dog, don’t tell me I don't put even a spark in those boring pants of yours?” He asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively. 

Adam cringed, “What of course not, I -” he was caught off guard by sudden movement going up the pants of his legs. Small firework like explosions lit up his pants, causing the already frazzled man to panic. 

Barbara went to help him, both Maitlands desperately trying to get the firecracker pants off of him. Once they finally did and got to catch their breath. BJ stuck a dollar bill in the collar of Adam’s boxers. 

BJ clapped, “strip strip strip” he said between laughs and snorts. His laughter soon turned too full on wheezing at the angry looks he received. Adam quickly grabbed his, hopefully, normal pants. 

BJ stood up, drunk from laughter and walked over to the two pinching their cheeks. Laughing fondly as he turned towards the attic window to look outside. 

“You two are too much fun.” He finally said turning himself around and leaning against the window frame. “So easy to squirm, like worms, sexy worms.” He hummed. A moment of silence as the angry glares continued. 

“Do you two squirm that much in bed?” BJ snickered “God/Satan I hope so” he added while the other two exchanged looks as if they were telepathically communicating how to get rid of him. 

Finally Barbara piped in, “As _exciting_ as that was, you really need to learn to respect other people’s boundaries, and privacy.” She emphasized. “If you don’t, well you can tell Lydia goodbye” She folded her arms, putting her foot down. 

BJ frowned, “Don’t get your panties in a twist over it, jeez” he rolled his eyes. “Buzz kill” he mumbled under his breath. 

Suddenly Barbara let out a yelp, both hands covering her butt cheeks. She tugged at her underwear trying to aggressively untwist them from the outside of her dress so she could quickly pick up a nearby object. 

That object was a pillow from the couch, but she threw it hard enough it would hopefully hurt the demon even just a little. “ASSHOLE!” She shouted, covering her mouth at her outburst. 

Adam gave her a surprised look and a disbelieving laugh. He walked over and placed a hand on his wife’s shoulders to comfort her after her panties decided to play twister while she was wearing them. 

“See A-dog that's where you totally messed up, should of gotten those things off her way sooner” BJ chuckled only to see Adam attempt to glare at him but instead his face turn pink. They are married and yet still get embarrassed at anything close to suggestive when it comes to the other. 

“Ugh, Todays has been such a long day” Barbara finally caved, leaning on her husband for support, too tired to even act as mad as she was. 

“Pfft I know right?! This day has took like 4 chapters!” BJ added, getting weird looks from the two ghosts in the room. 

“What?” Adam said. BJ quickly echoing what he said with wide eyes before acting as if he hadn’t said anything. 

A knock came from the door and Lydia opened it, seeing the three paranormal figures in her life looking stressed or smug, you could guess who was what. 

“Dinner is ready, will you be joining us?” Lydia asked. 

“May!” Delia shouted at an odd attempt to correct Lydia. 

“That doesn’t even make sense, what the hell!” Lydia shouted back. “God I am tired” she said to the others in the room before rolling her eyes. 

“Aren't we all.” Barbara finally admitted, gesturing towards the demon and walking towards Lydia, Adam right behind her. The two began to walk down the stairs, however the demon stayed. 

“You coming?” Lydia asked the demon that had a leftover grin from his previous ‘conversation’. 

“Nah, I ate earlier remember, I will just chill here, see what I can get into” He responded. Lydia only gave him a thumbs up and a laugh before descending the stairs herself. 

Now BJ was alone again. Alone with his thoughts. Shit. 

* * *

Beetlejuice decided since his thoughts were so hell bent on being “thunk” then he was going to go to the roof. If his problems couldn’t be out of sight out of mind, then he would. 

He sat in the same place he had when he first met Lydia, ah memories, that could have been a lot worse if they hadn’t had met. Though he wouldn’t take credit for keeping Lydia from jumping, she was a smart girl just sad and invisible. He knew how that felt. 

BJ silently and aggressively pulled at his own hair. Why did those memories hurt? He was here again, right? Oh yeah. Thousands of years of abandonment issues. He just wanted to be over them, over himself already. 

But he was scared, that little paranoid voice telling him everything is going to fall down hill before he can make a lasting impression. However, he did know what the impression would be, how he could win most all of them over. 

Sadly, he had to wait just a little longer. Just a few more days or a week or whatever, he doesn’t pay attention to breathers version of time. He would know when the time was right after all. Lydia would tell him without even knowing it herself, she will be too caught up with what that date is the anniversary of. 

BJ sighed and waved his hand and a small portal like mirror appeared. A warm looking woman with dark brown hair in a black dress and unique black sun hat appeared in it. She was laughing unaware of being observed by the depressed looking demon. 

As long as she came through on her end, this would work out. BJ waved the image out of the air and looked straight out at the fourth wall. A grin plastered on his face as he placed a single finger over his lips making a shushing noise at the audience. 

A gremlin like chuckle came from him as he seemed to be reabsorbed into his own reality. His shoulders shook with each laugh. He loved suspense after all, or more specifically watching people suffer in it. 

He propped a leg up on the other, odd thing was there were currently 3 legs and a 3rd arm he had leaned back resting on. He hummed, bouncing his leg up and down while enjoying the silence. A bit out of character for him, but he soon dozed off. He was just a bit tired it seemed. 

* * *

At the dinner table not much was talked about accept the reappearance of Beetlejuice. Lydia mostly recounted the afternoons events and the maitlands generalized theirs for the sake of Lydia’s “innocence” . 

At one point near the end of dinner, the sides of Lydia's mouths dropped a bit and she laid her utensil down. Which gained the attention of almost everyone at the table, most noticable the ghosts who only sat there for conversation, unable to eat like they did in life. 

“Have you guys noticed that Beetlejuice is a lot more distracted compared to when we first met him?” She asked, getting questionable looks from all around the table. 

“Not particularly, he was wild when he first came through the door to the netherworld.” Charles said distastefully at recounting the demons behavior. 

Delia only hummed and Adam and Barbara just reiterated what Charles had said about Beetlejuice’s behavior. 

“Just me?” she asked, concern clearly whipped across her face. Either she was going crazy or BJ acted differently around her than the others, which wasn’t something she actively thought about before, but it made sense. 

“I am sure he just has a lot on his mind, dear” Delia piped in trying to ease the concerned look Lydia had. 

“He thinks?” Adam said half jokingly, half disbelieving under his breath. Barbara through her hand at Adam softly, laughing a bit, but trying to stop him from insulting BJ in front of Lydia, he was her best friend after all. Babara did a poor job however, little only gave them an eye roll. 

The conversation from before continued. 

* * *

BJ was startled away, interrupting a loud snore, by a knocking coming from the window he had went through to get to the roof. It was the Maitlands, they opened the window and called for him. They did so in a way that would imply they had been looking for him for some period of time. 

BJ stood up stretching, popping noises sounding all over his body, giving away his position to the couple purposely. He only chimed as simple “Yo.” and awaited a response from the two. 

“Dinner is over, we wanted to know if you were sleeping on the couch in the attic or the one in the living room down stairs?” Adam asked as both he and Barbara stepped back allowing the demon to enter the attic. 

BJ mostly just shrugged, but before he could have time to give or not give a proper answer, Lydia opened the door to say good night. She stood there, door being held open by her body. 

“Good Night, Dear.” Adam and Barbara sang in warm unison. BJ on the other hand only walked forward distracted by the sound of talking coming from the down stairs area. 

“BJ?” Lydia questioned, only receiving a short hum and a half ass pat on the head from the demon as he passed her heading down stairs. Looking down over the railing at Charles and Delia talking. 

Charles was telling Delia goodnight as Delia sat on the couch reading a book before bed. Lydia turned her attention away from the demon and to her ghostly godparents. 

“See I told you, distracted.” She shrugged and walked passed him to her room and off to bed. Adam and Barbara only gave each other a confused look as they watched the demon make his way down the stairs once Charles’s voice had left the air space. 

The two quietly followed the demon, watching from between the rails of the staircase. BJ quietly walked over to Delia who was absorbed in her book. 

“Hey Del.” He said simply, no particular emotion in his voice. Delia jumped at the sudden guest. 

“Gracious, BeetleJuice Dont do that, please.” She placed her hand over her racing heart. BJ only laughed. 

“Give a guy a break, that wasn’t even on purpose.” He said, walking to the opposite side of the couch and placing his dirty shoes on the cushion and his butt on the opposite armrest. 

“It wasn’t?” Delia asked, surprised and curious. Both still unaware of their ghostly onlookers. 

“Um” was Beetlejuice’s only response. He returned to his odd habit of scratching his dirty facial hair with a single finger and looking away from Delia. 

Delia’s mother and life coaching instincts kicked in, he wanted to talk to her about something, but didn’t want to talk about it at the same time. She had seen kids and teenagers act like this all the time. So she played along. 

“Was there something you wanted to talk about?” She asked, hoping she was right in her assumption. 

“Uh yeah, um, Thanks….” A pause. Both Delia and their Ghostly eavesdroppers eyes widened at the uncharacteristic gratitude expressed by the demon. 

Beetlejuice shifted his weight a bit. “For uh, saying somethin earlier bout givin me a second chance. It.. It helped a lot.” BJ cringed and shivered at this next part. “I appreciate it.” He shook his head as a chill went down his spine. Yuck, he hated emotions. 

Delia was pleasantly surprised and placed a hand on BJ’s leg. “Your welcome” as simple as day and returned back to her book. She watched him through the corner of her eyes. 

Beetlejuice breathed a sigh of relief, true signs of how nervous he had been, that or unwilling to do so originally. It was obvious that BJ wasn’t good with emotions, but Delia admired his attempt to make a change. 

“The remote is on the chair.” Delia said. A moment later the remote floated of its own accord into Beetlejuice's hand he began flipping through numerous channels. Laughing at horror movies or sad soap operas. Normal behavior for the demon, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. 

Adam and Barbara who had been watching this entire time, the raised back and propped themselves against the opposite wall of the stairs. Clearly unnerved and uncertain by this new side of Beetlejuice. He was almost kind and normal in some ways. 

They had to rethink everything now, sure he was a pervert to them, but Beetlejuice was best friends with Lydia, they didn’t know how before but now they might. BJ had a side or maybe sides of himself that he only showed to specific people or at specific times. 

He had the potential to be a “good person” in Barbara and Adams eyes and they were always up for a challenge. They were both curious as to what else the demon was capable of when it came to positive behavior rather than just what they could tolerate. 

They quietly made it back to the attic, phasing through the door to keep any suspicion down and talked for hours about what they had just seen. Sure it was barely anything, but it came from BJ. He almost sounded a bit like a decent human being, and he was a demon for heaven’s sake. 


	5. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sudden change in plans leads to a life saving blessing for Lydia and Beetlejuice suffers the side effects.  
The Maitlands have just the cure though! Compassion and blankets!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter so much and I hope you guys like it too  
seriously <3333

A few days had passed, the Maitlands continued their nosey behavior trying to pick on any major shifts in Beetlejuice’s behavior. The only notable difference was the pouty attitude he had every time Lydia had left for school. He had tagged along the day after his arrival, but returned a little over an hour later due to boredom. 

However, staying at home wasn’t much fun either, accept for messing with the Maitlands. This created a conflict of interest, Barbara and Adam couldn’t observe any changes in behavior if he was busy harassing them. 

After the first day alone in the house with Beetlejuice, Adam and Barbara had about as much as they could handle. Barbara had asked Delia to invest in a fly swat, which she promptly began using. 

Beetlejuice thought it was hilarious at first, making several jokes about her being a dominatrix and how lucky Adam must be. But, he soon learned that he really, really didn’t like Barbara when she was mad and had that damn flyswat. 

Worst part was after that first day Lydia had made BJ promise not to use his powers on the Maitlands directly, or at least not as much. Mostly because the underwear and pants incident got around and Lydia found out. 

Beetlejuice wouldn’t initially fall through with it until the two compromised that he only had to behave when she was away from school. Which BJ agreed to not even considering the fact that he hangs out with Lydia the most when she was actually there. 

To be fair this is what Beetlejuice gets for making stupid promises that go against his literal pranking nature. But it was only temporary, Lydia’s school had a fall break coming up, and then it was ‘Show Time!’. 

But, no matter how ironic or funny it was that his name was “Beetle”- juice and it was a tool for getting rid of “pests”, Beetlejuice wasn’t having a good time. He decided just like the Maitlands had, he has had enough with being alone in the house with them. 

* * *

“Bunch of buzz kills anyway” he grumbled angrily to himself. “If I wanted to be smacked every five minutes I would go visit my mother.” He grumbled again before widening his eyes at the realization that his mother was in the stomach of a sandworm, which he fed her to.

He let out a laugh that sounded almost evil, his mood brightened remembering he was free from Juno. Well free for a while, she was a demon after all, she would regenerate and then he would have hell to pay. 

That would take ages though, plus she was probably still trapped in the Sandworm gut, which made it even more difficult for her to have a speedy regeneration. Which made the next hundred or more years sound even more amazing to BJ. 

His thinking got hopeful, depending on how far the Sandworm traveled, it might be a thousand or thousands! He gave a gremlin like laugh as he floated down the stairs instead of using them like a normal person. 

Lydia was saying goodbye to Delia before leaving for school. Beetlejuice remembered his original train of thought about being done with hanging out alone with the Maitlands. He speeded up his decent and stood next to Lydia.

“Bye Beej, see you later” She waved at him despite him standing close by.

“Nah, how bout I tag along this time?” He gave a cheesy grin which Lydia only rolled her eyes at.

“Ok, same rules as last time, don’t distract me, especially if someone is talking to me or watching.” She smiled and waved her hand again, this time motioning for him to follow and out the door they went.

Lydia had began riding her bike to school so she didn’t have to wake up as early to walk to school. Sure her dad could take her, but with as early as he left she would be at the school before sunrise. 

“Think your going to beat your old record of a..” She looked at a non existent wrist watch. “Whopping hour and 13 minutes.” she chuckled. She put her arm back on the handle as she swerved a little at her distraction. 

“Only an hour and 13 minutes!” BJ cried, he had been floating next to her, both keeping a constant pace. “That felt like centuries, and I should know, I have lived for a ton of em!” He whined, dangling his arms to express his displeasure.

They continued poking fun at each other making it to the crosswalk at an intersection by the school. It was probably the busiest intersection and crosswalk in town, between school traffic and all the girls who walked to school. Mostly because there was a gated neighborhood near by which most of them lived at and had no need to ride. 

Stuff like that is expected when it comes to private schools and those who attend it having spending money. However, Lydia didn’t mind the walk, or well, bikeride now. Especially since her favorite demon in the world decided to tag along. 

_However, Lydia would find out soon just how happy she is that he did tag along._

There was a small park on the opposite side of the road to the school, classes would often go out during the warm weather and have class outside. So due to this constant interaction with the park, bike racks were installed. 

This was incredibly convenient for Lydia, meaning she could lock her bike up before having to cross the crosswalk to get to school. And she did just that, it was much easier to talk to Beetlejuice without trying to ride a bike at the same time.

BJ was just the type of person you couldn’t not look at when talking to, mostly because of his facial expression and his puns that often turn physical, lashing out at their own creator. They were a staple of his humor, and Lydia loved them.

Lydia waited for the crosswalk sign to signal it was their turn to cross, her and a group of a few other girls, all mostly paying attention to their phones aside from Lydia, crossed. However, the girls were not the only ones distracted by their phones when it came to interacting with the crosswalk.

An oncoming car came towards the pedestrians, the driver clearly distracted by their phone. It appeared to be some sort of heated argument over text as both hands were off the wheel and in their place the knees of a 20 something year old woman. (seriously terrifying when you see someone driving like this though)

A student on the side of the road of the school noticed the oncoming car and shouted at her classmates that were still in its path. By the time the driver and the girls in the street looked up, including Lydia, it was too late.

There was no time to move, Lydia and two other girls were in the middle of where the car would hit, no matter how hard the driver could try and swerve out of the way. Lydia and Beetlejuice looked at one another, panic in both their eyes.

Beetlejuice really only cared about getting Lydia out of the way of danger, plus he wasn’t technically in the living plane, interacting with it would be a pain. He looked up at the car again and went to wrap a long arm around Lydia’s waste and hoist her up out of harm's way.

However, Lydia had dived into the two girls near her. Apparently Lydia and Beetlejuice had the same idea, just with different individuals. Lydia was able to get the two girls out of the way, shoving them out of the way and causing herself to fall on the ground due to the backlash of momentum. 

Everything seemed to be in slow motion for everyone involved. Lydia could see the panic in the drivers eyes as she watched Lydia push the other girls and fall. The driver attempted to swerve away from Lydia, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Everyone could see it wouldn’t be enough, the side of the car would still collide with Lydia and possible the other girls nearby that were still on the ground from Lydia’s attempt to save them.

Beetlejuice was still stuck in the momentum he had when he tried to grab Lydia. Their eyes met, both seeing terror and fear at what was about to happen. Lydia’s eyes told BJ as message that he could hear loud and clear.

** Help Them**

He had decided, screw being in a different plane of reality. He didn’t like following the rules anyway. Lydia watched as a green glow radiated from BJ’s eyes, he raised a hand towards her, that single motion being the only one to not apply to the slowed environment around them.

Lydia felt herself being lifted off the ground and slung to the safe side of the street. The other girls soon followed in the same fashion. Before time caught back up to her she could see the oncoming car be incased in the same grew glow.

Somehow BJ had used his powers to redirect the car so it would spin to a stop just past the red light. A similar glow was found around near by cars who had stopped at the red light allowing the girls to cross, moving them out of harm's way as well.

No damage was done other than the driver getting a nasty hit on the head from her car coming to a sudden stop and being thrown around a bit by the unexpected and unplanned spin.

Lydia watched wide eyed and disoriented from the adrenalin rush that had influenced her perception of time. She stared at BJ who let a burdened breath, looking exhausted. He only gave her a tired smile before Lydia's view was obstructed by an adult.

Panic ensued as police and medics were called to check on the girls and to deal with what had just transpired. Lydia was lead to the front parking lot where an ambulance had just arrived and she was looked over.

She only suffered a few scrapes and bruises from where she had fell, so did the girls she pushed. All the other students were fine. However, parents were informed of what happened, which meant both Charles and Delia were on their way.

The police had curalled all the students into the large front office to be questioned once they were checked out by the medics. This is where Lydia was reunited with Beetlejuice. And oh boy, did he look like shit.

He was a lot sweatier than normal and his normal sunken eyes looked almost like empty sockets. He was exhausted. Turns out manipulating another reality while not being in it, sucked ass. Not even in a good way. 

He was breathing a bit heavier than normal, but he still made his way quickly over to her once he spotted her. Oddly not floating, Lydia noted. She hugged him as soon as he was in arms reach, despite the numerous other people in the room.

It was alright though, everyone was so distracted and shooken up, honestly she doubt anyone would notice her hugging what looked to be the air. She breathed out a thank you and held onto him even tighter. 

BJ returned her embrace, a wave of relief coming over him. “I am so so so glad your not dead” he gave a nervous laugh as he said his thank you to the universe.

Lydia smiled, she was shaking a little, despite literally hugging a demon and seeing ghosts on a regular basis, this whole event still scared her pretty bad. 

“I would have come back and haunt you if I was.” She said trying to find humor in it and cheer BJ up who was distraught and acting far from his usual self. 

“Haha. I am sure you would, kid.” BJ hugged her tighter and laughing along. Although that wasn’t what he was worried about. He was certain that if Lydia had actually died she would have went straight to sanctuary or paradise or one of those other fancy afterlives. He didn’t know what she believed in.

Lydia was too amazing a person to come back as an earth bound spirit. The Maitlands were a different story, they had too many regrets to move straight past the waiting room, but Lydia, he wouldn’t be surprised one bit if she did. 

He was going to be selfish, she wasn’t allowed to go see her mom just yet, she was stuck with him until she was a shriveled old prune. Then he would let her go… Maybe.

* * *

Charles and Delia pulled up to the school not even bothering to park in a proper spot. They rushed in to be stopped by an officer. After a moment of clarification they were allowed in and they rushed in looking around until they finally found Lydia.

She was standing towards the back of the room, Beetlejuice standing next to her in an almost protective way. Delia and Charles ran over and hugged Lydia tight. Beetlejuice stepped back to give them a moment.

Lydia recounted what had happened and both of her parents attempted to convince her to come home for the day. She decided she wanted to stay for the day despite all that had happened.

“Honors Science doesn’t care if you were or almost hit by a car, I still have a lot of work in that class” She reasoned. Smiling at her parents, she had finally calmed down completely. Beetlejuice’s presence may have helped with that, who can be scared when you have a guardian demon.

Now that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be slightly traumatized, but she had been through worse.  
If she hadn’t have been through what she already has, and the same goes with her parents, Delia and Charles probably wouldn’t have let her stay for the rest of the day.  


“I think you should take BJ home though” She added after hugging both her parents again. Beetlejuice protested with a series of noises, although they were not as obnoxious as they normal were due to his current condition.

“I think he overdid it when he saved us.” She explained her parents looking over and agreeing after analysing the poor state the demon was in.

“Never thought I would see the day Beetlejuice was too tired to cause trouble.” Charles said making light of the situation.

“Har Har” BJ retorted annoyed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and propped himself on a nearby table that only had a decorative flower on it. What he wasn’t intending was for the table and the decoration to fall over and cause a loud commotion.

Everyone else cringed or jumped at the sudden noise. Including BJ who seemed to look even more tired after realizing what he had done. 

“Sorry.” Lydia said aloud, putting the blame on herself to avoid suspicion. 

“Maybe you should come home.” Delia agreed, BJ only glared at her.

“I am not leaving Lyds after all that.” he walked closer to her protectively. “Cars are friggin death traps, and you breathers shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near them” He said sounding like a concerned older brother or maybe a parent.

Delia and Charles expressions softened, they already knew BJ cared for Lydia, but they were happy to see that he had become protective of her. Delia thought of him like Lydia’s protective older brother, and now intended to treat him like her own son. 

Charles gave BJ a look of approval, but still agreed with Lydia. He thought hard about what could be said to ease the demons nerves. 

“I want to alter a rule.” Charles announced to his family.

“What?” The others said in unison, confused at this sudden shift in conversation.

“Lydia, instead of not summoning Beetlejuice at all, you may if you are ever in a dangerous situation and need help,” he paused “And only when you need help.” making sure there was little room for a loophole.  


“Alright, that sounds good to me.” Lydia said, it actually did make her feel better and she could see BJ process the information and look less on edge.

“Ok” Beetlejuice finally decided. “That would’ve made that whole mess a lot easier if that was the case earlier.” He said half joking half serious. BJ was drained, he really wanted to rest, but he was still uncertain about leaving Lydia.

“Hey dad, can you pick me and my bike up after school?” She said after noticing Beetlejuice’s remaining unease, her parents seemed to love the idea as well. It was the best solution after all and a compromise she was willing to make if she got to stay at school. 

Science wasn't actually her main worry, it was the rumors that would spread. She wanted to make sure no nasty ones got started about the whole incident. 

Lydia hugged him and waved them all three goodbye as she went to talk to an administrator about going to class

* * *

Beetlejuice followed Delia and Charles outside to their car. His eyelids droopy and his hands in his pockets. Delia and Charles went to their respective sides up front to get in, while BJ attempted to phase through the back door into the back seats to lay down.

Key word: Attempted. He ended up bonking his head on the glass of the door. He was too exhausted to phase.

“Shit, am I really that pooped?” BJ said to himself, rubbing his sore head. Delia and Charles saw and heard what happened, Delia quickly got back out and opened the door for the confused demon who simply just plopped into the back seat and laid down.

A few minutes passed and Charles decided he was going to try and talk to Beetlejuice. Mostly thank him for what he had done for them by saving Lydia and watching out for her. 

“Thank you.” he said, a pause following to see if Beetlejuice had anything to say. He said nothing, he was too taken aback by the fact someone was thanking him. This was new.

“Thank you Beetlejuice, for making sure Lydia was safe and well.” Charles said finally, directly addressing Beetlejuice so he knew he was talking to him. Beetlejuice took a moment to respond.

“She means the world to me” Beetlejuice said under his breath.

“Sorry” Charles questioned, not hearing what Beetlejuice had said properly.

“I wouldn’t let nothin happen to that kid” He finally said loud enough for Charles and Delia to hear. “I would let a sandworm tear me to pieces before I let anything happen to Lyds.” He said with confidence. He meant every word he said, and how much he cherished Lydia wasn’t something he would ever joke about.

Delia and Charles smiled at the demon who had sat himself up a bit on the inside of the car door. His arms were crossed and he looked as if he was trying to keep himself awake.

* * *

Once they arrived home Beetlejuice plopped down once again, but this time on the couch. Delia and Charles took the next few moments to fill Adam and Barbara in on the situation.

They ghostly couple were so relieved that Lydia was alright, and very happy that Beetlejuice had decided to tag along today. Barbara felt a tinge of guilt hit her, she didn’t regret the whole flyswat ordeal because it was a contributor to him going with Lydia, but did she really have to be so mean?

Adam felt a little guilty as well, they had intended on psychoanalysing Beetlejuice but didn’t even bother to put up with his normal behavior and chased him away. They would be nice they decided, and take care of the exhausted Beetlejuice.

Charles had left and returned to work, while Delia decided she would stay near the school in town and do a little shopping to calm her nerves. This left Barbara and Adam alone with Beetlejuice, it was a perfect opportunity to make things right. 

They walked over to look at Beetlejuice for the first time since he had gotten home and almost jumped out of the skins, if only they had living bodies. Beetlejuice looked more like a corpse then he normally did. 

He was laying on his back with a small couch pillow on his chest with one arm wrapped around it, almost as if he was using it as a form of comfort. Beetlejuice turned his attention to the mixed faces of the Maitlands.

“Jeez, what are those looks for?” He finally asked, watching their expression change to realization and then to something between worry and disgust. 

“Woah, are you ok?” Adam finally spit out. BJ grumbled in response and turning on his side a bit.

“Just peachy, thanks for asking.” He did his best to exaggerate his facial expressions as he normally did but it just looked sad with the lack of energy he had.

“Oh uh ok” Adam said unsure as Barbara hurried him over the other side of the room so they could talk in confidence about the situation.

“I have never seen him act or look like that.” Barbara said to her husband who was thinking just the same thing.

“I know, its creepy.” He responded, wrapping his arms around himself in a self hug.

“Its sad.” Barbara added. “I kind of feel bad that we were so mean to him, he really does care for Lydia. I still don’t think he is the best influence though.” Barbara placed a hand on her face in a manner that would imply she was conflicted.

“We wanted to see if there was more to him, right?” Adam proposed. “We just found out he has, well for lack of better words, a heroic, or protective side. So, maybe now that he is whipped out, we could see if we can talk to him.” he paused “seriously I mean” Adam corrected himself.

Barbara’s eyes widen a bit at what her husband was proposing. “That's not a bad idea,” she agreed. Then the two walked back over to the couch to find BJ missing.

“Where did he go” They both asked at different moments, the sentence mixing up a little. Causing the two to giggle a little at each other. They heard sounds coming from the kitchen and went to investigate.

What they found was Beetlejuice leaning on the counter and drinking out of an old cup. Barbara was pretty certain that was the cup they put the leftover grease from breakfast this morning, but she honestly didn’t want to ask and have that confirmed. 

They stood there a moment, no one saying much of anything for a few minutes. In that time Beetlejuice had decided he wanted a blanket but instead of getting one he just went to his default way of getting what he wanted.  


Similar to his wardrobe changes his coat disappeared and a black and white striped blanket was draped over his shoulders and his pants now resembles sweatpants in material shape but still held their iconic stripes, just dulled more to a grey.

Beetlejuice faltered a little. An annoyed look came across his face, wardrobe changes were like the easiest thing he knew how to do. Why was that so tiring to do? He asked himself, him manipulating the outside living plane outside of the haunting perimeters he borrows from the Maitlands really did do a number on him.

He didn’t really want to accept the fact he was this weak. He hadn’t been this distraught or exhausted over his abilities since he was a little demon first getting the hang of causing chaos, and even then they were pretty easy.

His mental conversation continued as he thought of the possibility that him interacting with Lydia and might have made him this way. No. Not a chance, sure he may have gone a little soft, but he wasn’t like the other demons anyway, they were way too into torture, he only like the fun kind. 

In Beetlejuice’s silence Barbara and Adam became more worried due to his sudden appearance change, it wasn’t just his outfit though, he honestly looked worse after using his powers. 

“You look like death.” Adam commented. Not intending on it coming out so rudely., but of course BJ wouldn’t take it that way.

“Thanks, your hot too.” Beetlejuice retorted confirming Adams suspicion. Beetlejuice was acting odd, but he was still acting enough like himself to make them feel better.

“You really look like you need some rest Beetlejuice” Barbara said putting a hand on Beetlejuice’s forearm. A looked crossed Barbara's face “Do you sleep? Do demons even sleep?” She asked, mostly directed towards her husband not expecting a serious response from BJ.

“They do.” Beetlejuice proved Barbara wrong. He took another sip of watch Barbara was afraid was still the leftover grease. “Don’t like to tho.” He replied, a bit softer.

Adam and Barbara couldn’t tell if it was because he was tired or what, but they were surprised nonetheless by the response. They watched as Beetlejuice stared at nothing in particular in the other room, occasionally sipping from his cup.

Barbara still had her hand on Beetlejuice’s forearm and started to rub it a bit with her fingers in an attempt to comfort him. This pulled Beetlejuice out of his trance enough to hear her next question.

“Can I ask why?” She said softly back, Adams eyes portrayed the same message as his wife. Beetlejuice was unsettled by the sudden compassion they were showing to him. He would have removed himself entirely if he wasn’t so tired, and touch starved. (aside from the hugs from Lydia)

Beetlejuice gave them an uncertain look, his tired features made it hard to hide behind a laugh or smile and his face gave it all away. He didn’t like to sleep, because for whatever reason, it made him uncomfortable or uneasy. 

Barbara and Adam knew what that usually meant, the two had gone through a number of issues together and one of them was nightmares, each had their own issues in life and they helped each other through them. 

“Would you rather us talk with you instead?” She said, looking at her husband for approval, which she of course got.

“Wat ya mean?” Beetlejuice fumbled out while taking a sip of his drink. Confusion writen across his face.

“If you don’t want to rest, would rather us keep you company?” Adam clarified adding his hand over BJ’s cupping it.

Beetlejuice didn’t really know how to react to the kindness he was receiving. He would love to have their company, he truly did like the two, he just didn’t know how to show it other than being a pervy jerk. He was good at being a pervy jerk.

“I - uh- sure... “ Beetlejuice paused. “Do what you want.” he spit out quickly, his hair which had been dull from either his mood or energy level or both lit a soft shade of pink. Barbara and Adam smiled.

“I will make us some tea.” Barbara said, taking the cup out of Beetlejuice hand only to discover it was in fact the grease from this morning. She swallowed a gag from escaping her mouth. “Go sit on the couch and I will join you in a moment.” She addressed Beetlejuice.

“Oh! I will go get us some blankets too! We can all be burritos!” Adam said way too excited for bundling up and watching TV. Both Barbara and Beetlejuice swooned a bit at how adorable Adam was. Damn they would die for that sweetheart and protect him with their afterlives.

Beetlejuice did as instructed and made his way to the couch. Adam returned with blankets, giving one to Barbara and wrapping one around himself as Barbara gave each one of them a cup of tea. 

Each cup had its own individual tiny tea bag, which BJ ended up eating at some point. Barbara and Adam had curled up next to each other on the matching loveseat to the couch, giving BJ the room to stretch out.

They turned the TV on and decided on a movie channel, nothing particular in mind. A few hours passed, Adam and Barbara laughing along to the movie or having their own side conversation.

It was music it Beetlejuice’s ears, he loved the sound of their voices, the sound of their laughs, they way they cooed at each other. He could fall in love with them all over again.

School hadn’t let out yet but some time had passed Beetlejuice’s eyelids began to close. He fought the need to sleep, however. Barbara and Adam soon picked up on this when they had made their little routine checks on Beetlejuice, mostly because he was so quiet.

“Its ok if you want to sleep now.” Barbara called to Beetlejuice, who only turned his head to the side, still fighting keeping his eyes open. Barbara opened her mouth to ask again before Adam beat her to it.

“If we sit with you will that make is easier to fall asleep?” He asked, fixing his blanket over his shoulders and standing up. “It always helped me when I couldn’t sleep or had nightmares to have someone nearby.” He said as he maneuvered himself to the couch and sat at BJ’s feet.

Beetlejuice’s eyes widened. He would contemplate how they knew he had nightmares, but he was too tired. Way too tired. He sat up in the middle and folding his legs indian style. He placed a pillow under his chin and in his lap. 

Barbara took this as her chance to make room next to the two, sitting on the opposite side of Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice still watched them a bit surprised, but his face wouldn’t communicate the same message it seemed, that or they just ignored it. 

He leaned back into the back cushion, relaxing. Barbara and Adam smiled at each other, both bundled up as well. They leaned on their respective armrests and watched TV. 

They didn’t need sleep like they did when they were alive, they found out, but they could still do it, unlike eating. It was some of the only normality that had left. So maybe after such a tiring morning combined with that information is why all three paranormal entities fell asleep curled up next to each other on the couch.

* * *

Charles and Delia had just picked Lydia up from school, the two had met outside the house prior and joined into one vehicle. They were happy to hear that nothing else happened that day.

Lydia was busy recounting all the rumors that got around and how fast the got around, she was telling them about all the wild details that were made up about what had happened. Teenage girls were not beacons of truth Lydia concluded.

Lydia was telling them about one girl trying to say that Lydia didn’t know what she was talking about even though she was there, as they walked into their house. She kept her pace, still looking at her parents who were a bit amused by the story.

Delia quickly signaled for Lydia to lower her voice however, as the two adults could see over the back of the couch only a few steps into the living area. Lydia's attention soon followed to what they were looking at.

Lydia finally heard the raspy snores of her best friend and to her surprise saw her ghostly godparents curled up next to him. The two ghosts had snuggled up against the demon. Turns out demons are a lot warmer then ghosts are. 

They all seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The Deetz quietly went to the other room to finish their conversation and allow their friends time to rest.


	6. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beetlejuice and Lydia talk late a night then Beetlejuice introduces something new to the Maitlands.  
Afterwards Beetlejuice decides he wants to help Delia and the Maitlands fix dinner only to have Barbara scrub all his precious dirt of his hands and face. Then it's Dinner time and Lydia talks about her day!
> 
> (Writing is a little paraphrased in this one, just do to lack of ideas for filler, but filler is needed, I promise it will make since in the end and I might come back and rewrite the worse chapters)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a major chapter, mostly filler and fun, but I sketched some stuff from Chapter 5 and it will be at the end of the chapter!!!!
> 
> This was supposed to be a short filler chapter wth Rigel lol

Beetlejuice slept the following afternoon and well into the night before being woken up by the sounds coming from the kitchen. Lydia had gotten up to get her something to drink after having an unpleasant dream.

She wouldn’t really call it a nightmare, she associated those with being scared, her dream was about her mom, it was bittersweet and sad. She really missed her, and knowing that you actually stick around after you die didn’t make it any better. 

She wanted to know why she didn’t stick behind like Adam and Barbara did. Did her mom really not want to be around them anymore? Lydia sighed and forced the thought to the back of her mind.

She took a sip of the cool water she had just fixed, the glass held by her laced fingers. She was walking out of the kitchen to her room, passing the living area to almost have a heart attack.

Two green glowing orbs stared at her from over the couch. She took a breath once she realized what or more accurately who it must have been. Adam and Barbara had gone on their own bed upstairs, however Beetlejuice remained on the couch, not waking up until now. 

“BJ is that you?” Lydia finally asked, stepping over to the coffee table to turn on a lamp. BJ cringed at the sudden light and only hummed in response.

Beetlejuice appeared to be a little disappointed, must have been because the Maitlands had left, but his hair didn’t turn purple, so obviously he wasn’t too torn up over it. 

“Wats’up Kiddo” He rubbed his eyes to refocus them. He got a good look at Lydia she seemed a little upset, her eyes were puffy like she had been crying. He patted the couch next to him and she soon followed his instructions.

“Just had a dream, that’s all.” Lydia finally admitted, taking a slow sip of her glass. 

“Want to talk about it?” Beetlejuice asked, still cuddled up in his striped blanket, pillow in lap.

Lydia looked at him, a little surprised, he would have usually went straight to cheering her up, not that she didn’t appreciate talking about her dream. It was just very mature sounding.

“It was about my mom, I know she is gone and I accepted it, it is just hard.” She paused. “Hey Beetlejuice, can I ask you a question?” She said, eyes serious but still sad.  
“Y-yeah kid, shoot.” Beetlejuice said, started by her sudden seriousness, he also had no idea how to comfort her over her mom, he wasn’t good at comforting or understanding what it was like to have a decent mom.

“How come my mom’s ghost didn’t stick around like Adam and Barbara did?” She asked, not blinking, making full eye contact with Beetlejuice. He wasn’t getting out of this one.

“Oh um, I dunno kid.” he sighed. “I am guessing she wasn’t the big mainstream religious time since your not either, so she probably went straight to sanctuary.” He looked down, he was walking on thin ice with this topic and he knew it.

Both Lydia’s emotions and the fact that if he got a head of himself he would reveal too much. Beetlejuice rested his chin on the pillow in his lap.

“What's sanctuary? Whats religion got to do with it?” Lydia asked both questions faster and more intense then she intended. 

“Remember ‘playing hopscotch from from heaven to valhalla’?” Beetlejuice quoted a past joke of Lydia’s. Lydia made an “oh” face as she remembered their past conversation.

“Basically breathers who don’t want a membership pass to those big clubs go to Sanctuary, it's like a default place.” He explained. “The reason you probably didn’t see you mom was because she didn’t stay behind.”

“But why? Didn’t she want to stay with us? Didn’t she want to stay with me?” Lydia had become emotional at that last part, tears dripped from her eyes as she sat the glass in her lap. 

Beetlejuice’s expression saddened greatly at his best friend's distress. He took his arm and pulled her closer, covering both their backs with his striped blanket.

“That wasn’t the reason, Lyds. She probably didn’t have a choice.” He sighed “I have been around long enough and conning the recently deceased long enough to know that if someone knows they are dead and don’t have any regrets, they won't be earthbound.”

Lydia accepted his embrace and cried into his shirt, sniffling every few minutes. She wiped at her eyes trying to calm herself down, but the tears just wouldn't go away. 

“But Adam and Barbara stayed.” She tried to argue. 

“Yeah…, but Adam and Barbara have their own shit to deal with, they regret waiting to start a family and it spiraled from there.” Beetlejuice said as he grabbed the corner of the blanket and attempted to wipe some of her tears off her face.

“Oh. Why did they wait?” She asked, curious about her ghostly godparents reasoning for being earthbound. 

“I dunno, I was in this house before they got here, I just watched once they moved in.” He replied. 

“Wait, why were you in the house in the first place? I though Barbara and Adam brought you here first.” Lydia replied looking up at the demon. She watched the look in his eyes sadden and his hair turn purple in the poor lighting.

“I knew they were going to die soon.” He tried shrugging the feeling of guilt away. “When a death is meant to happen, there is just this certain smell and energy that surrounds where its gonna happen. So I got a head start and came here to see if I could con them into getting a living person to say my name.” He said, smiling at his old antics.

“But the Maitlands are really good people and its kind of sucky that they had to die, especially since they wanted one of those little tiny parasitic humans so bad. Glad they stuck around as ghosts tho. Wouldn’t of met you.” Beetlejuice explained, squeezing Lydia a little bit at the last part.

Lydia laughed at his description of human babies, of course he would call them parasites. “I am glad I met you too Beetlejuice.” She hugged him back as well. “Thanks for telling me about all that.” She yawned. “I think I need to go back to bed, I have school tomorrow.” 

She stood up and turned towards Beetlejuice, “You know you have turned into a big softy” she poked fun at him and gave a cheesy smile. Beetlejuice acted offended.

“I’ll have you know I am the best of the worst, not some softy” Beetlejuice challenged back. He gave Lydia a toothy grin, showing off his yellow teeth.

Lydia waved him off and Beetlejuice kept up his smile and watched her approche the stairs. “Gooooood Night! Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” He called as she shut her door. A shout soon followed.

“Beetlejuice!” Lydia shouted from behind her door. Beetlejuice laughed, snapping his fingers and whatever bed bug related sight Lydia had encountered disappeared. He smiled, his powers were back and he was more convinced than ever that what he had planned for the would make Lydia's happy. (And keep the audience guessing)

Beetlejuice stretched out on the couch and went back to sleep.

* * *

Beetlejuice didn’t wake up again until late morning, the Deetz had all left to do their daily activities and the only the Maitlands remained.

Beetlejuice stood up from him resting place of the couch and stretched, joints popping. With a snap of his fingers Beetlejuice returned to his normal attire, however without his coat. He wore his striped overalls and his undershirt, he was thrilled that his powers were back to one hundred percent again.

He floated and phased through the first level ceiling of the house up to the attic door and gave it a unique knock that almost sounded as if he was trying to drum a tune. 

“Come in!” Adam shouted from the other side of the door. Beetlejuice phased his head through and then the rest of his body as he saw Barbara painting a small house and Adam leaning over a table.

On closer inspection the table had a small replica of the town being constructed on it. It seems the two had been at this all morning.

“Since when do you knock?” Barbara asked, looking up from the tiny house she was painting only to see Beetlejuice shrug in response.

Beetlejuice floated over the table a bit getting a good look, he just had a confused look on his face. “Why the town?” he finally asked.

“We wanted a new project to work on and to be honest, we miss it.” Adam answered, looking more depressed than before.

“How can you miss it? You live in it.” Beetlejuice laughed at the silly reasoning.

“We can’t leave the house.” Barbara said a bit harshly, annoyed that Beetlejuice had forgotten.

“The whole land of worms or whatever is where we end up every time we try and leave.” Adam said, putting what he was working on down so he wouldn’t mess it up from his growing frustration.

“Oh you mean Saturn.” Beetlejuice said, still looking over the small replica. 

“Saturn?” Adam and Barbara said in unison. 

Beetlejuice waved his hand over the replica, still floating a few feet off the ground. The replica was soon replaced by small sandy hills of red and orange sand as small version of the giant snake that ate Juno dove in and out of the sand. 

“Saturn.” Beetlejuice hummed at his little creation. Barbara and Adam looked at it eyes wide. They leaned in to get a better look only to have a tiny sandworm jump at Adams face and hims shout as he raised back up. 

“How did you do that?” Barbara asked before Adam had the chance to. They both looked up at BJ who had put a hand down onto the table and started playing with a tiny sandworm only looking up when it bit his finger and he slung it across the room into the wall.

“Its just an illusion, you dips could do it to if you just tried.” He rolled his eyes clearly unamused by their ignorance. He did enjoy the look of joy that spread across their face, however.

“We can?!” They said in unison and began to give it a try. The illusion changed to that of the town, however it was a bit outdated Beetlejuice concluded, they hadn’t seen the town since they had died, a few things had changed.

“Looks great there cuties, but let me add a few updates.” Beetlejuice waved his had a bit and the town was not only updated to the exact detail, but now small people walked around and cars drove on the streets.

“Woah thats amazing!” Adam cheered and Barbara shook his shoulders making a happy noise.

“This will make it so much easier, thank you Beetlejuice!” Barbara finally made her mouth form words through her excitement. Beetlejuice once again didn’t know how to respond, he wasn’t intentionally doing this to make them happy, he was just bored.

Beetlejuice's hair portrayed how he felt though turning completely pink. Adam and Barbara’s face blushed a bit too at the sudden realization they had actually made Beetlejuice bashful. They giggled a bit.

“I like you hair.” Barbara hummed still laughing. Pointing out and at Beetlejuice's pink hair. Which Beetlejuice promptly looked up at and covered with his hands, now very embarrassed. 

Adam laughed alongside his wife at Beetlejuice's behavior but soon let out a sad sigh. “I really wish we could go out in town, I miss having a life like we did when we were alive.” He looked down at the small replica.

Beetlejuice’s hair returned to green, but some strands of pink remained. He watched as Barbara tried to comfort her husband, but it was clear she felt the same way.

Beetlejuice lowered himself to the ground, standing normally. He was gonna regret what he was about to say, he really didn’t want to share this information but he would feel bad if he didn’t. He didn’t like this guilt thing, it has gotten a lot worse since he met this odd family, he blames them.

“You can.” Beetlejuice paused seeing their sudden and confused looks “Not in the same way, you can’t be brought back to life, but you can still have one.. Sorta.” He said waving his hand changing the image of the illusion again. 

Everyone watched as the town changed into a different one, one that was colorful and had an odd shaped structures and plant life. It almost looked like a crooked version of a dr seuss books, just a little more close to normal. Creatures that didn’t appear human and some that did walked the streets and even kids ran around and played.

“What's this place?” Barbara finally asked, eyes still stuck at the miniature town.

“The Neitherworld.” Beetlejuice sighed, poking at a worn out road house, wiggling its little version around out of boredom or disinterest. 

“But we have been to the netherworld and it doesn’t look anything like that!” Adam protested still amazed. 

“No, you have been to the waiting room, that's in the Netherworld, this is a town I know in the Neitherworld.” Beetlejuice explained, he observed the neighboring houses and watched a small skeleton walk outside and begin jogging. 

“Are they demons or monsters?” Barbara asked, finally making eye contact with Beetlejuice.

“Nope, normal old breathers that died.” He floated back up and propped himself into a comfortable position no longer looking at them or the illusion. “Most of em want to get away from their old lives when they were alive and start over so they change their appearance.” 

Adam and Barbara looked over at Beetlejuice still amazed but confused why he didn’t tell them about this before. They were going to ask until they noticed the children playing.

“Did those children die or were they born that way?” Barbara spit out, sounding a bit desperate for an answer. Beetlejuice shrugged.

“Both, either can grow up, but the ones that were born there are a little special to the neitherworld, and most won't ever leave it.” He explained, disinterested dripping through his tone. 

“We can go there?” Adam asked and Beetlejuice visibly cringed. There it was. The big hey thanks for telling us about the Neither world we are going to go live there and start a family and forget all about you.

Beetlejuice growled under his breath, mostly at himself. He spit out an unhappy “yes” in response to Adams question. Adam and Barbara looked at each other and Beetlejuice heard them whispering.

The whispering wasn’t intentional, but the conversation was more in their own version of hurried speaking to each other that left the floating demon out of the conversation.

“Thank you so much for telling us about this place.” Barbara chimed in finally addressing Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice only gave a scowl that went unnoticed. His hair was purple with tents of red. 

“Do you think you could” Adam paused and laughed a little “Be our guide” he said in finger quotes.”There once we are ready to go?” Barbara and Adam smiled at each other and looked up at Beetlejuice with needy eyes.

“You want me to tag along?” Beetlejuice asked, sour mood forgotten momentarily. 

“Well yes, your our friend and we don’t have a clue how to get there or to read that crazy book they gave us when we first died, not that it would be much help anyway I am guessing." Adam said.

“Not right now of course, we want to stay and watch Lydia grow up, we don’t want to miss out on that, but to have a life after our time is done here would be just… woah” Barbara said in a sing song voice clearly dreaming about their future fantasy lives they could have in the Neitherworld.

“Wait, your not leaving me?!” Beetlejuice said shocked “I mean leaving right now?!” He quickly covered up his slip up. 

Adam and Barbara laughed, “Of course we are not leaving, we love it here right now and we got all the time in the world now that we are dead.” Barbara said resting her hand on her husbands shoulder. 

Beetlejuice’s mood improved tremendously and he seemed to have more jump in his step. He floated over and hugged the two tight.

“Yee I am glad.” Beetlejuice said as the two just laughed at the needy demon, they were well aware of how much he would miss them, but glad nonetheless he had shared with them about the Neither world.

* * *

The three paranormal individuals continued to talk about the afterlife and the living as they got back to work on the replica of the town. Adam and Barbara finally came to the conclusion that Beetlejuice wasn’t so bad, it was clear he was trying in his own way to be nice.

The Maitlands have said it before and they will say it again, they like a challenge. Beetlejuice is definitely difficult to get along with at times, but he was trying and so could they. They also agreed that they found his “little crush” on them cute.

Currently Beetlejuice was messing with one of the mini sandworms he summoned from earlier, they were completely a figment of Beetlejuice’s powers, however, it was a common fact that Beetlejuice's creations seemed to have a mind of their own and no respect for their master.

Beetlejuice didn’t mind, however he enjoyed the chaos. Barbara had returned to painting set pieces for the replica and Adam was mapping out placements. All content with what they were doing until a knock came from the door.

“I am back! Barbara, Adam would you like to help with dinner?” Delia called, opening the door to see Beetlejuice actually being calm and sitting down. “Oh, Beetlejuice too then I suppose.” She added, thinking aloud.

“I could use a break, how bout you, dear?” Adam set down his ruler and asked his wife. 

“Of course snookums” Answered back in Barbara’s voice, however on the opposite side of Adam. Adam looked over to this new location and about jumped out of his skin to see his wife's face on Beetlejuice’s body, yellow fanged teeth included, smiling and cackling at him.

“I do not look like that.” Barbara protested as Beetlejuice pulled at his, well her, nose to return his face back to normal in a cartoony stretch accompanied by a popping noises. He laughed and cackled like a deranged lunatic. 

Adam clutched his chest after that scare, “Yes break now please” he responded standing up and walking past Delia to the stairs. Barbara rolled her eyes at Beetlejuice who was still tickled to death over his little gag. It was their fault for letting their guards down she guessed. 

Barbara followed her husband down the stairs and Delia only waved for Beetlejuice to fallow, apparently she found it funny to. One hand covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh along.

* * *

Once they had all made it into the kitchen, the next challenge was getting Beetlejuice to wash his hands if he had intended on helping fix dinner. This resulted in a cartoony game of cat and mouse and a very angry Barbara Maitland.

“You said you wanted to help! Stand still!” Beetlejuice ducked and swerved around the confined kitchen away from the wet rag Barbara had. “Don’t make me get the damn flyswat!” Beetlejuice froze in his tracks, Barbara however, couldn’t stop her momentum.

This caused the two to collide and fall on the ground. The wet rag landed on BJ’s face and draped over his eyes. The two groaned as the slowly picked themselves off the floor, well Barbara picked herself off the floor Beetlejuice began grabbing at the rag on his face trying to hit it away like a bug.

Or well like a normal person would swat a bug away, Beetlejuice would have eaten it if that was actually the case. Adam finished helping Barbara to her feet as she rubbed her backside where she landed.

“Glad I’m dead or that would bruise.” She complained.

“Oh Dear,” Delia couldn’t help but laugh as she walked over to help Beetlejuice get the rag off his face. “Do we really need to fight? Washing your hand isn’t that bad, you can also dirty them up later.” She attempted to compromise, however soon was very confused by the looks she received from the Maitlands.

She looked down to see what was so disturbing. Beetlejuice’s skin around his eyes, still purple and dead looking, looked brighter? In his attempt to free himself from the rag that Barbara had intended to use to scrub his hands clean, had done just that but with his grime covered face.

“Are those…..?” Barbara leaned down to look at Beetlejuice’s face closely. Adam did the same, Beetlejuice however was very confused and still stuck on his butt on the floor.

“I think they are!!!” Adam shouted, grabbing one of Beetlejuice's shoulders.

“What what?!?!” Beetlejuice complained, sounding scared at what they were so fascinated by.

“Delia grab the rag quick.” Barbara ordered, grabbing Beetlejuice’s opposite shoulder, the Maitlands kept the demon pinned down in his sitting position on the floor so he wouldn’t escape.

Delia handed Barbara the rag, looking over both their heads at what had them so hyper fixated. Barbara began attempting to scrub all the dirt off Beetlejuice's face. Beetlejuice of course attempted to fight back.

Adam and Barbara had a difficult time fighting the demon, who did not want to have his face cleaned, he looked panicked, which may be why he didn’t think to use any of his magic. 

“Help Delia!” Adam shouted as he got smacked by one of BJ’s flailing arms. Delia rushed behind BJ and stuck her arms underneath his armpits and restrained him.

“Woah.” Adam and Barbara said in unison, impressed by Delia quick thinking.

“Self defence training pays off” Delia said confidently “In strange ways.” She laughed not thinking she would ever be retraining a demon who hated bath time.  
Barbara took the chance to scrub the dirt away from Beetlejuice’s face and their suspicion was confirmed. Delia gasped.

“OH MY LORD!” She shouted grabbing Beetlejuice by his now clean face. “HE HAS FRECKLES!!!” She screeched.

Beetlejuice dramatically cried “noooo” she grabbed Barbara by her shirt, balling the fabric in his fists “Do you know how many years it took me to get that much dirt on my face.” He whined “Hundreds, Hundreds!!!!”

Adam gave a nervous laugh while Barbara only looked at Beetlejuice annoyed. She rubbed the rag on his facial hair a little more and some of the little spots on his face. No luck. His natural hair color must really be green and those splotches actually his skin. Noted.

Beetlejuice spent the next 5 minutes crying over his lack of dirt on his face as Barbara sat there and scrubbed his hands clean. Between gross sobs Beetlejuice finally spoke up.

“Wait!” Beetlejuice shouted and Barbara jumped. “Can I leave the nail polish on? And this stickers?” He said, snot running down his face. Barbara looked down at his nails.

They had been painted black pretty nicely ass accept for his left pinky, and had purple and green metallic nail stickers on them. She smiled and chuckled at the strange priorities the demon had.

“Sure, but who did you nails.” She asked him and Beetlejuice sniffed and slowly wiped the tears and snot from his face. “Lydia helped me! Gave me the stickers too!” He smiled very happy with himself.

Barbara pinched his cheek, “that was sweet of her” she said standing up to wash her own hands. Beetlejuice just rubbed his cheek taking a minute to stand up.

“Hey cheek pinching is my thing” he grumbled under his breath clearly annoyed that she stole his thing. He stood up and went towards the back of the kitchen, not sure if he wanted to help anymore.

Beetlejuice walked over to the oven and looked at his reflection, there they were, freckles, they were hidden by the layers of dirt on his face. Heck he didn’t even know he had those. 

He decided he would watch and help with minor things but Beetlejuice made it his mission to grumble and huff & puff as much as possible to show Barbara just how upset he was. Eventually Barbara caught on and got tired of it and chewed him out for it.

While the two argued, Adam and Delia watched as the two spit and shouted at each other. Everyone forgetting about the dinner they were in the middle of making. Panic ensued once they finally did pick up on the fact that all their food was burning.

Beetlejuice was rushed out of the kitchen while Adam, Barbara, and Delia all rushed to save the food. Luckily everything was ok, well all except for dessert. A mixed berry pie that was burn to a crisp.

Beetlejuice however greedily took the burnt pie out of Delia hands. “Yum.” he said before a large striped tonge emerged from his mouth and he licked his lips. He then took a bite, pie pan including. Everyone cringed at the noise and sight.

“That is… Disgusting” Barbara said.

“Hey I will eat anything” Beetlejuice argued as he took another bite.

Delia only laced her fingers together and smiled. “I like that no waste attitude of yours mister!” she cheered as she walked back into the kitchen to get the food and set the table.

Beetlejuice gave Adam and Barbara an evil grin as he poked his thumb towards Delia gesturing to her as she had appreciated his ‘unique taste’. Acting as if he had won some unsaid argument with Barbara.

Which Barbara only roller her eyes at. But as Beetlejuice followed Delia around babbling on about who knows what, Barbara sent a kind smile his way. He wouldn’t see it of course, but she had to admit, nothing is dull with Beetlejuice around.

* * *

Some time had passed and Lydia and Charles had finally made it home. The two had went shopping together after school, which Charles was still picking her up from after the crosswalk incident. 

Everyone soon sat down at the table, Beetlejuice finishing off the burnt pie and the Deetz enjoying their home cooked meal. Lydia was telling all 5 of her favorite people about her day at school.

“And then Shauna told Clair she could eat her a-” Lydia was cut off by a loud noise from her father ‘clearing his throat’ which signalled her to not curse. Lydia laughed the rest of what she was going to say out.

She sighed from the refreshing laugh and finished up “Dani and Shauna are the best! I swear” she chuckled and took a bite of her food. “You should really meet them BJ, I think you would like them.” She said mouth still full of food.

Beetlejuice laughed along. “Sure Lyds they sound great,” he said, not really caring to meet anyone else, he really just wanted to hang out with Lydia, anymore was a crowd.

“That is great sweetheart, why don’t you invite them over some time?” Charles asked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. 

“Really?! That would be awesome, can they meet Beetlejuice too?” She said, completely forgetting about her food. 

“I don't know if that is such a good idea” Adam said as he watched Beetlejuice inhale the last of the scorched pie.

“I am really glad you are making friends, dear, I was so worried for a moment there that you would be a social outcast.” Delia said, not realizing how rude it sounded. Lydia only rolled her eyes and hummed a response before deciding to focus on something else. Then she said it.

“Beetlejuice do you have freckles?” Lydia asked innocently not expected him to slam his fists on the table and screeching across it at Barbara. 

“SEE IT IS NOTICEABLE THAT ALL MY DIRT IS GONE” Clearly referencing a past argument they had. Barbara only rolled her eyes and scoffed which lead to Beetlejuice flipping the dinner table.

Shouting and Childish could be heard by any passerby from the house on the hill.

* * *

#### Sketches from Chapter 5

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually draw over writing but since I am already committed this then why not some sketches haha


	7. School Yard Bully

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beetlejuice goes to school with Lydia and Lydia gets into trouble once again.  
Lydia gets into a fight and Beetlejuice may get two new BFFs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a crap ton of fun with this one!
> 
> Trigger warnings!  
Heavy cursing, including the f-bomb  
hate speech from a bully character, mostly about lgbt+  
***Don't worry the bitch get decked in the face :D

Lydia placed her plate and glass into the kitchen sink as she had just finished breakfast. She walked to the living area to grab her school bag when she noticed she had forgotten to bring it down from her room.

Lyda groaned at the forgetful mistake that broke her morning routine even just a bit as she made her way back up the stairs to her room. She heard rustling from the otherside of the door, curious she opened her door to see who had decided to make themselves at home. 

Lydia wasn’t expecting the sight she saw. There Beetlejuice was wearing a larger version of her school uniform. The uniform for her all girl private school. Lydia couldn’t help but laugh.

Beetlejuice had posed once the door had opened, making an anime girl pose with a peace sign over his eye and hand on his hip. He gave a toothy green as Lydia started laughing so hard she began wheezing. 

“Ready for school!” Beetlejuice shouted, he hadn’t had enough time to come up with a better starting pun or quip. 

“That.” Wheeze “Is.” wheeze “The best thing ever!” Lydia laughed, hugging her chest as she ran out of breath. She plopped herself on the ground, wiping the tears out of her eyes from laughing too hard. 

“What? Does it clash with my eyes?” Beetlejuice laughed out trying to keep up the act and fluttering his eyelashes which were camedially long for the sake of the joke.

Lydia only laughed, her whole body shaking, her stomach hurt from how much she had laughed. Beetlejuice was thriving in it however, he loved making people laugh, especially Lydia, the sound of her laugh was his favorite. 

“Jeez Kid. Good to know I still got it, but you breathers gotta… ya know… breath!” He laughed, snapping his fingers and his outfit returning to his normal striped suit. He offered Lydia a hand who took it, trying to stand up and catch her breath.

“This is why I want Shuana and Danielle to meet you so badly.” She was finally able to say, still sore from laughing so hard. Beetlejuice handed her her bookbag and they started making their way down the stairs, beetlejuice floating beside her, of course. 

“I doubt they could see me tho, babe.” He hummed, sliding down the railing of the stairs. Lydia's expression changed to a thoughtful one.

“Oh yeah, any idea how we can get them to see you?” She asked him, they both waved Delia goodbye and they walked out to the front porch. “Ya know since I can’t summon you unless its an emergency?” 

“Hmm” Beetlejuice scratched his now clean facial hair, courtesy of a determined Barbara and a wet rag. “No breathers saw me when I was not summoned accept for…. You.” He said coming to the realization that Lydia was the only breather who had ever actually acknowledged him. 

“Really?” She asked. “Maybe it is because I don’t ignore the strange and unusual, because I to am” Beetlejuice mimicked the next part at the same time she said it “Strange and Unusual.” They also laughed in unison at what had become her iconic phrase. 

“Eh I dunno Lyds, I have met some odd folks before, some that could see ghosts just like you but never me” Beetlejuice shrugged at her theory. Floating down the sidewalk with her. They were walking to school for the first time since the accident, the only reason Lydia was allowed to was because Beetlejuice had tagged along.

Lydia thought harder about what was so special about that time on the roof. Was it because she had planned to jump? No. That wouldn’t align with a near death experience because she never committed to jumping or rather was stopped by a needy demon. She would have theorized that maybe having a near death experience could have “opened her eyes” about BJ, but.

“Well what was up with you when you were on the roof?” She finally asked. “I was really depressed and sad about the whole thing between me and my dad. Maybe it has something to do with that?” Lydia said, not really expecting it to be right, just another idea to be thrown out there.

“Oh I was bummed because I thought I was never going to be seen and would be alone for the rest of the time withonlymythoughtswhichisreallyshittyanddepressing” He got on a tangent and his speech soon turned into hyperspeed. His hair reflected his worsened mood.

“So we were both depressed and felt alone…” Lydia said slowly putting the pieces together.

“Invisible” They shouted in unison looking at each other with wide eyes. “So maybe its because we felt the same way about our existence? We were invisible to everyone else so we weren’t to each other?” Lydia concluded.

“I guess so!” Beetlejuice replied, not really good at this whole theorizing thing “Best thing anyone had ever come up with this far.” he laughed.

“We can’t really recreate that with my friends though, can we?” Lydia sighed a bit sad.

“Probably not, Babes. But hey at least we know why we met! We were both equal amounts of alone and sad.” Beetlejuice said way to cheerfully which Lydia laughed at. They stopped as they made it to the crosswalk.

Beetlejuice looked around to make sure no one was looking and once again exerted his power outside the ghostly plane to float Lydia across the street. This time however it didn’t take hardly as much out of him, he was actually caring her rather than using his magic.

Beetlejuice sort of borrowed The Maitlands haunting parameters so whatever they could interact with like they were living, he could to. Which included the people that lived in the house and since Beetlejuice could leave the house along with them, he could interact with them in the living plane some, such as now.

Lydia tried not to laugh at the fact that her “guardian demon” was being a mother hen about crosswalks now. He wouldn’t let her cross the street like a living person and rather was either flown over them or teleported. Teleportation cost more energy to do, however.

“Thanks Beej” She replied still tickled by his overprotective behavior. “You know I already have four parents, I don't need a fifth.” She laughed at him.

“Kid you have had a total of three moms and two dads, and you still get into trouble, you are the literal definition of “it takes a village to raise a kid”.” Beetlejuice huffed out, his overprotective big brother side showing fully now. 

Lydia rolled her eyes and laughed at him again. They made their way into the building. Everyone was too busy talking to their friends before class to pay Lydia much mind, however she did get a few odd looks. 

“Lyds seriously, my reputation is entirely based off being a troublemaker, **and you stress me out**” Beetlejuice finally admitted. Still floating he turned onto his back and floated above the students heads as they made their way to class.

“Afraid I am coming for your brand, Mr. trouble maker” Lydia glared at him before laughing again. Beetlejuice roller his eyes at her in response, deciding this wasn’t a battle he wanted to fight at the moment.

Lydia was way more stubborn than Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice also found she got into a lot more trouble. Maybe she had worn him down a bit with her own stubbornness topping his. Although Beetlejuice can respect someone who is as bull headed as he is.

Beetlejuice thought back to what Lydia had said the night before about him becoming a ‘big softy’ and now about him acting all protective and parental like in that way. His past self would have been totally offended, he even acted like he was last night, but truth be told it didn’t bother him.

And that was what bothered him. Did that even make sense? Beetlejuice scratched his head, he was confusing himself now. Either way he wasn’t as upset as his past self would have been to be called these things as long as it meant everything stayed the way it was now. He was willing to make a change to keep it that way. 

He really liked whatever odd friendship him and Lydia had made, he never had anything like this before. As he told Charles and Delia, or well mumbled under his breath, he would do anything for Lydia.

Lydia interrupted Beetlejuice from his sudden silence. She had become concerned as to why he had gotten quiet and had such a serious look on his face.

“What's gotten into you?” She asked, trying to joke a little in fear something was actually wrong.

“Nonthin just thinking.” He replied.

“Now, that's terrifying” She gave him a shit eating grin, he replied with a loud “Hey!” and hit her playfully on the shoulder before they made it into her first period class.

Beetlejuice actually made it through the day longer this time, no getting bored and leaving, no school girls almost becoming roadkill, he found ways to entertain himself. Most of them were small pranks her could manage without using any large quantities of his powers. 

Throughout all of Lydia’s morning classes Beetlejuice had successfully tied multiple girls shoelaces together, stolen 13 scrunchies, drew who knows how many penises in textbooks and even ate the science classes' pet lizard's food for the next week.  
“Crickets aren't as good as Beetles” Beetlejuice said sadly as he ate the lizards food like popcorn. He was shushed by Lydia who was trying to take notes, she actually cares about Science class compared to her other classes. Beetlejuice pouted.

* * *

Finally Lunch rolled around to both the relief an increasingly bored Beetlejuice and a slightly distraught Lydia who was frustrated she was actually confused about a topic in science, science was the one academic thing she thought she was good at, oh well she liked a challenge here and there.

This is when Lydia got to meet up with the before mentioned friends, Shauna and Danielle, or Dani as she liked to be called. They made their way to the outdoor eating area, which they preferred especially now with the cooler weather, taking a seat at a picnic table.

Lydia and Dani couldn’t even get a word in as soon as Shauna saw them she started venting about her last class, however they didn’t mind, Shauna had an interesting way with words which just made it hilarious to listen to everytime she got heated about something.

“Why can’t that ditzie blond get it through her thick self centered head that you can’t take credit for other people's art!” Shauna slammed her tray down in frustration at what happened in her previous class, art. 

“She didn’t get reprimanded though” Dani piped in, laughing a little at how extra Shauna is.

“Yeah, but it is literally the first thing you see when you google color wheel projects, it would be one thing if she didn’t say anything about it, but nooo she had to boast about how amazing she was for never doing art before” Shauna balled her hands into fists.

“Calm down, your letting something petty as Claire get you this upset, your gonna wear yourself out.” Lydia finally supplied, not bad advice either, having a life coach for a stepmom has its uses.

Shauna rolled her head back and sighed, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. “I know, but she is just so, ugh, frustrating, why do people even buy into her ‘Miss Perfect’ attitude anyway?”

“I really don’t think they do Shauna, but Claire for whatever reason has enough social power to keep them quiet.” Lydia laughed, agreeing with her friend.

“Yeah I guess so.” Shauna paused taking a bite of her food. “I can’t wait for after high school, when no remembers her accept for being ‘that bitch no one liked’” Shauna gave an evil laugh.

Beetlejuice was listening this entire time, cackling at how heated Shauna had been about this Claire girl, he had to agree though from all that he had heard from previous stories, the girl was a bitch. He didn’t understand art, but Shauna seemed to like it and know a lot about it, so he just assumed she knew what she was talking about.

“Until then were stuck with her” Dani added, grimacing a little. “I really don’t like her though, she targets you and she is really good at picking out your insecurities.” Dani shuddered a bit, talking from experience, her baggy sweatshirt that she wore over her uniform shook with her movement.

Lydia and Shauna shared looks of concern for their friend. Lydia decided she should change the subject. 

“So do you guys believe in demons?” Lydia said getting startled looks from her friends before they both burst out into laughter.

“Seriously, you tell the class your house is haunted and now ask us if we believe in demons?” Shauna laughed out.

“Why the sudden change in topic?” Dani asked, thankful for the shift in conversation but still curious.

“Well the haunted house thing got y’alls attention didn’t it?” Lydia said referencing how they had first began talking and became friends.

“You really do take the whole goth esthetic to an extra level don’t you Lydia” Dani said poking a little fun.

“Hey it didn’t hurt to ask.” Lydia said, taking a bite from her pre-packed lunch. “Plus my dad said I could see if either of you wanted to come over, and this is needed information.” She said with a little bit of a mischievous tone in her voice as she attempted to make the last part mysterious.

“We believed you on the ghost thing, so are you trying to convince us that there is a demon living there too?” Shauna laughed, looking over at Dani to add to it.

“Oh, I hope its a leprechaun next” Dani said hurriedly, everyone laughing.

“That is not even remotely close to the same thing as a ghost or demon” Beetlejuice gave a half hearted laugh and an eyeroll which only Lydia could hear and see.

“Yes actually, he sleeps on the couch” Lydia tells them like its no big deal which only makes them laugh more. "He is green like a leprechaun though" She adds looking up at Beetlejuice who gave her an unhappy "Hey!" in protest, crossing his arms to appear all pouty.

“Well clearly we really do need to spend the night, we have to meet these supernatural housemates of yours.” Dani said trying to sound serious, but failing hilariously. 

“That's the thing though, I have been trying to figure out how to get it to where you guys will see them.” Lydia revealed, huffing at her predicament.

“What do you mean?” Shauna asked.

“Well most people don’t pay attention to the strange and unusual, and it's easier with ghosts to get breathers to see them, usually you just have to make it blatantly obvious. But demons, especially my demon is a whole other story.” Lydia lectured confusing the hell out of her two friends.

“Listen Lydia, I believe in ghosts and all that, but what do you mean ‘my demon’” Shauna asked.

“Breathers?” Dani said a bit quieter, clearly confused.

“Oh I have some explaining to do” Lydia laughed, she had really not kept much information from her two new friends, maybe that was because she was so desperate for friends her age, but she was never a liar, she wouldn't want friends that she had to hide things from, so when these two approached her wanted to know more about her ghostly godparents, well she was just thrilled.

“Oh, well I know I said I didn’t really have any friends, I meant my age” Lydia said getting concerned looks from Dani and Shauna who were concerned like any normal person would about the age part.

“I have another friend, my best friend, BJ.” Lydia revealed.

“The demon?” Shauna asked

“Doesn’t BJ stand for blow job” Dani said in the same soft voice as before, only zoning back into the conversation when it got quiet from the other two giving her an odd look before laughing out loud.

Beetlejuice laughed along as well, he had never thought of that joke and was very surprised no one else had used it on him. “I like this kid!” He cried, snorting between laughs.

Dani and Shauna didn’t quite believe her on the demon thing, but Lydia was probably the most interesting girl in the school, or at least in a new way. She talked to herself through the halls, had full on conversations, said her house was haunted and the ghosts were not her second set of parents, honestly she was a blast to talk to.

This left the two girls a bit curious though if there was any truth in her statements, there were always rumors that the house on the hill was haunted, especially after the Deetz had moved in. Mostly stemming from the people who had visited the house while Lydia and Beetlejuice ran a muck, but they didn’t know that.

“Ok yeah I will have to talk to my parents and we can all figure out a date” Shauna laughed, moving the conversation back to the sleepover.

“Same here.” Dani gave a wave and grabbed her and shuana’s trays and took them into the cafeteria to be disposed of. 

The girls meet back up at the door heading out the outside eating area just as lunch ended and everyone began going back to class. Beetlejuice however stayed outside, said he was going to go dig up some bugs but he actually just wanted to lay in the sun. Lydia swore that man was part cat.

* * *

They were making their way to class, which thankfully all three shared, when Dani said she needed to go to the bathroom. Although the school was an all girls school, the bathrooms were still high school bathrooms and you had kids hanging in there and also the grossness that comes from ‘public’ bathrooms 

Shauna and Lydia waited at the corner of the hall outside the bathroom to talk, while Dani used the bathroom since the had no need to go themselves. However, this soon changed when Shauna noticed Claire Brewster and her tag along gang of no personality clones entered the bathroom shortly after Dani.

“This is going to be trouble I can feel it.” Shauna told Lydia as she grabbed her hand and lead Lydia into the bathroom behind her as quickly as she could. However, not quick enough, trouble had already begun.

“Seriously, get out, we want to use the bathroom and don’t want some queer in here.” Claire spit venom rolling out of her mouth as she targeted Dani. Dani only gave her a silent stare with angry eyes, used to this treatment. Simply because she donned short hair and hid herself under bulky clothing.

“Wow, phobic and stuck up, you really are the whole package” Shauna came to Dani’s rescue, following her retort with a gagging sound as she pointed her finger at her mouth completing the insult. 

“Like you have anything to talk, you hang out with her and that goth freak behind you” One of the girls that entered the bathroom with Claire retorted. Her name or face wasn’t important, she was a carbon copy of Claire in almost every way but literal, she was just a copycat that buried her own personality to replace it with someone else's.

Claire took notice of Lydia after the comment was made a directed her attention to her and played off what her ‘friend’ had said. “Oh I guess highschool really is like the movies, all the rejects stick together” she said making a sarcastic yaying noise with fake enthusiasm. 

“Woah! Your so right Claire, must be the same for insecure bitches with no personality like you and your posse of lackluster knock offs, huh?” Lydia spoke up, showing she can both take it and throw it back at Claire. Proud sarcasm dripped from every word, Shauna and Dani looked impressed.

Claire scoffed and refocused her attention onto Dani, the one Claire knew she could still push around “Hah Insecure? If you want insecure look at this freak, hiding under oversized clothes.” Claire grabbed Dani’s sweatshirt into her first before letting it go and smoothing out the wrinkles. 

This only gave Dani false hope that it was over. It was far from it. Claire shifted her hand and groped at Dani’s breast, revealing its shape which she had tried to hide along with any trace of a feminine figure a young lady might have under her cold weather wear. 

“Little freak wouldn’t be so hard to look at if she actually acted like a girl, see she has breasts and everything!” Claire sung in a rancid tone that made Shauna and Lydia grit their teeth. Dani cried out and slapped the girls hand away. Claire acted surprised that someone struck her, even though she had just as assaulted Dani.

Claire’s shock would only be driven further as Lydia balled her first and threw a right hook at Claire's face. Claire stumbled back in shock from the sudden attack against her being, which Lydia took and shoved the girl as hard as she could into the sinks. 

Shauna rushes over to comfort Dani and get her out of the way, as Lydia and Claire began full on fighting. With this being a private school for girls, fights were not very common, bullying was, specifically on social media, but physical old school fights? Not so much.

Lydia had been in plenty of fights, be it they were mostly in when she was way younger, but still. What Lydia didn’t know was that Claire’s parents had paid for her to have self defence training, meaning Claire had the advantage as well as the back up.

Lydia was not expecting the two girls that followed Claire around like mindless puppets to act on their own and shove Lydia back, each taking a turn, giving Claire the time to get back on her feet. 

“You little goth bitch!” Clear shrieked and landed a hard blow in the center of Lydia’s face. Lydia, however caught herself before the momentum could land her on her butt and she hunkered down tackling Claire.

The two pulled at each others hair, Lydia biting her several times as well. Beetlejuice would have been proud if he was there. Shauna and Dani, neither ever being in a fight tried to escape to go get Lydia some help from an adult by where stopped by the two other girls.

They were not going to let this get framed on Claire by any means necessary, if anyone was gonna run and tell, it would be them. They would make sure Lydia and the other two got hit with the punishment.

Lydia pinned Claire to the nasty bathroom floor and and began to make a loud noise that indicated she was gathering all her spit and she spit directly into Claire face, causing the girl to scream and push Lydia off. 

Claire whipped the spit out of her face and through a sucker punch into Lydia right eye, making sure it would definitely result in a black eye. Lydia fell backwards, leaving both girls on the ground catching their breaths, but not finished fighting.

Both girls were covered in scratches, Claire had several bite marks, including one on the side of her jaw, and Lydia had a partially swollen eye as well as a nasty bloody nose. With as much commotion as the two caused, an adult had to be on there way… right?

“Not so fun when someone gives you a taste of your own medicine is it Claire?” Lydia laughed, trying to wipe away the blood dripping from her nose. Still out of breath

“That's what you think freak” Claire glared and looked over at the two girls who were still keeping Dani and Shauna from leaving. “Help me idiots” Claire ordered and the girl went towards Lydia.

Lydia only screamed in response and lunged back at Claire throwing the two back into a tussle. It didn’t end until the two girl shad ripped Lydia off of Claire and held her back. Claire took her time getting back to her feet and sent a kick into Lydia's stomach.

Which Lydia had no way to block because her arms were being restrained by the two girls. Shauna shouted and ran over to Claire, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Lydia. Claire however, had the upper hand and transferred to the grip into her control and put Shuana’s arm behind her back.

Claire pulled hard upward causing Shauna to let out a cry of pain.

“STOP IT!” Lydia and Dani cried in unison. Claire smirked and through Shuana to the ground, but did let go of the arm lock. 

“You thought I was just a bitch right, all bark and no bite, guess you were wrong.” Claire said through gritted teeth as she turned her attention to Lydia once again. Shauna was now being dragged out of the way by Dani in a similar fashion to earlier, this time roles reversed. The two girls too scared for their friend to run for help at this point.

Claire went to drive another kick into Lydia's stomach, but right before she could Lydia let out a loud shout, however what she said was a complete surprise and to the utter confusion to everyone in the bathroom.

“BEETLEGUESE” Lydia screamed before getting kicked once again. Her breath being knocked out of her, preventing her from finishing the summons. However, Beetlejuice was nearby and could feel the same weird sensation he felt when someone was attempting a summons. 

The best part about Beetlejuice sharing the haunting parameters as the Maitlands and being able to interact with the breathers living there, was that he could feel their presence when they were nearby if he really concentrated. So he did just that, teleporting into the bathroom.

Beetlejuice teleported in a puff of smoke which soon fogged up the entire bathroom. No one but Lydia could see Beetlejuice however, but Beetlejuice had made his presence known to some extent. 

He looked around and saw a bloody and bruised Lydia, and man was he pissed. He disappeared and reappeared behind Lydia, hoisting her up a bit in a protective hold. The two girls that were originally holding Lydia back had been shoved by an invisible force. That force being a very angry invisible demon.

Several “What the hell?”s sounded from those in the bathroom and a few waved the smoke out their faces. 

“What was that?” Claire asked, pissed and unimpressed. Only to be met with 2 green glowing ords seemingly floating in the air above Lydia's head. But before she could react an animalistic growl came from Lydia's direction which startled everyone in the room.

Beetlejuice, was pissed, but clearly holding back because he was dealing with just teenage girls. Lydia calmed down immediately, she was safe, she knew she was, now it was time to have some fun.

“Did you just growl at me you freak?!” Claire shouted at Lydia only to laugh. “You Pathetic little freak, you really-” Claire continued only to be cut off by what Lydia had to say.

“That wasn’t me.” Lydia said simply with a smile.

“Oh? I am supposed to believe that, what else could it have been?” Claire decided she would bite.

“My guard dog.” Lydia replied, smile turing into an evil grin. Before Claire could respond a semi transparent form appeared above her. It was of a large dog, they green eyes seemed to fit perfectly with the dogs and it let out a monsterous growl and snarl as it charged at Claire and the two other girls who had returned to her side.

The ghostly dog, however, passed right through the girls, but scared them enough to cause them to fall back at the expectation of being mauled. They screamed in terror only took look up at a laughing Lydia. The green glow from above her head remained however, and it seemed her own eyes reflected an unknown source of neon green light. 

“I would leave if I was you” Lydia warned the girls who all sat on the ground still in shock. Yellow teeth appeared right under the green orbs that floated above Lydia’s head and a demonic cackle could be heard as everything in the room rattled, lights flickering. Snakes poured out of every faucet and toilet and slithered all about the bathroom.

Everyone in the bathroom soon fled as the snakes made their way to them and attempted climbing up their legs. Some even falling off the stalls onto the girls, including Shauna and Dani. The only ones that remained in the bathroom where Lydia and Beetlejuice.

The snakes made no threat towards Lydia, one even curling up her arm like a pet snake would as Lydia readjusted herself to sit Indian style on the bathroom. Beetlejuice followed suit and did the same. His appearance looking a little tired, but no wear near as bad as the crosswalk incident.

The two were quiet before shouting “That was incredible!!” in unison and laughing at their similar thinking. 

“I can’t believe I missed you beating the shit out of someone.” Beetlejuice laughed, grabbing Lydia’s shoulders and squeezing them and then placing his hands on his cheeks, cupping them like someone staring at a baby would do.

“I know right, but she did put up a good fight though, who knew that bitch could throw hands” Lydia laughed.

“If she wasn’t already in as bad shape as she was, I so would have put snakes in her clothes.” Beetlejuice cackled.

“Haha yeah, What was with the growl?” Lydia said still whipping the dripping blood from her nose, a bit annoyed that it wouldn’t stop.

Beetlejuice just shrugged ‘I was angry” he replied. Lydia laughed, leave it to Beetlejuice to do the most unexpected but perfectly timed things.

“Gosh I loved the snakes, perfect touch.” Lydia held her fist out which Beetlejuice bumped his fist to as intended. “Oh and the ghost dog perfect touch.” She said.

“What are you talking about? The hound was all you, Babes!” Beetlejuice gave her a proud smile.

“What?” Lydia asked. “How was it my doing?” A look of confusion crossed her face. Beetlejuice pulled out a dirty rag for her to wipe her dripping nose on, it wasn’t going to get any cleaner anyway, so she used it to hopefully stop the bleeding.

“You made great use of my juice, babes.” Beetlejuice responded.

“That doesn’t even sound appropriate, what do you mean?” Lydia gave a half laugh.

“My juice! My magic, babes, come on!” Beetlejuice sounded a bit annoyed that she hadn’t picked up on this before.

“Beetlejuice you gotta fill me in, I still don’t know what you mean.” Lydia rolled her eyes, Beetlejuice often assumed everyone knew what he was talking about when it was often the opposite.

“My magic is free range, no cages.” He cackled a bit because it sounded like one of those frozen chicken commercials. “It does what it wants a lot of the times, that's why my puns lash out at me, or even someone else's puns.” He revealed. Lydia made an ‘oh’ sound.

“Plus to share A-dog and B-towns haunted parameters I gotta pay rent.” Beetlejuice added, placing his hands on his knees, still sitting in the floor indian style next to Lydia. “I add a lot of my magic to it so that I can manipulate it, not surprised that it had rubbed off on you, especially after you summoned me and we took over the house.” Beetlejuice finally elaborated. 

“So I can use some of your powers?” Lydia asked, stars in her eyes.

“Yeah, they seem to listen to you for the most part.” Beetlejuice laughed. “Surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner” He took a hand and ruffled Lydia’s already tangled hair. 

“How was I supposed to know, it's not like you are every straight forward about anything” Lydia poked him in the gut after she made the remark. Beetlejuice made an oof sound at the gab and shrugged in response.

Lydia went to stand up, which Beetlejuice just floated up reaching her height before and offering a hand to help her back up to her full height. “Thanks” she responded and Beetlejuice unfolded his legs and stood up normally on the ground.

Lydia looked around the room, the snake had mostly cleared out and so did everyone else. “So much for new friends huh?” She said sadly. “I probably chased them away for sure now.” 

“I dunno, I think they should be thankful.” Beetlejuice supplied with a soft smile. Lydia only gave a half hearted hum in response. Before the two could make their way out themselves an administrator came rushing in. 

“Are you Lydia?” An adult woman sounded off, only for her eyes to widen at the bloody and bruised mess Lydia was. “Oh dear.” She herded Lydia out of the bathroom towards the office. Unknowingly a demon tagging along behind them.

* * *

In the time Beetlejuice and Lydia had talked and an administrator had found Lydia, Claire had ran to the office and started screaming about all that had happened. The headmaster, several administrators and counselors were all trying to make sense of what happened. 

The only thing that they did understand was that a fight had broken out, a fight Lydia Deetz threw the first punch in it. They called Claire’s and Lydia’s parents as protocol states, Claire’s mother was the first one there. She made it clear that there was no way her precious baby could have instigated a fight.

Charles and Delia were the next to arrive, they had placed Lydia into a side office, a counselor trying to get Lydia to explain what had happened,which Lydia had done truthfully, leaving out the snake and hound parts however.

“We are here, where is she?” Charles said as soon as he and his wife had entered the office. Claire’s mother giving him a look of disgust while an administrator took them to where Lydia was.

Charles and Delia run in and instantly hugged their daughter and looked her over asking if she was ok and being very concerned by her bloody nose and black eye, instead of lecturing her like most parents seem to do. Her safety came first and foremost. 

“What happened?” Delia asked Lydia only to be answered by the counselor. 

“Apparently, Lydia thought it would be appropriate to start a physical altercation with another student over a verbal disagreement.” The counselor said, clearly looking for Lydia to be reprimanded.

The counselor thought that was what was about to happen as scowls came across the parents faces, however he soon noticed the Lydia held a scowl as well, and all three scowling faces were directed at him.

“If you call self defence inappropriate, then your full of shit!” Lydia shouted.

“You threw the first punch.” The counselor calmly argued.

“I was defending Dani! Claire is a bully to EVERYONE and she assaulted Dani!” Lydia said, slamming her hands on the desk. “A crime was committed! Instead of placing the blame on me, there should be an investigation and the victim should be given the chance to defend herself.” Lydia shouted.

“Danielle chose not to speak, and there is no proof of such accusations.” The unqualified counselor said coldly. “And Mr and Mrs. Deetz please get your child under control.” He said.

“No, I believe my daughter has every right to be upset and to have done what she did.” Charles said to the disbelief of the counselor, sure has dealt with parents that think their kids were innocent, but this??? 

“You have got to be kidding me, she threw the punch, she is most likely going to be getting expelled, your kid isn’t some saint.” The counselor threw out. 

“I am well aware of how my daughter is, this isn’t the first fight she has been in and this won't be the first time I have had to sue a school either.” Charles threatened. The Counselor shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the large man leaning over his daughter, placing a large hand on the desk and cleaning towards him. 

Charles and Delia herded a very proud Lydia out of the side office and back into the main office area. They were stopped by the principal before they could leave to their car, however.

“She needs to stay so we can discuss repercussions.” The principal said getting straight to the point. Charles only pushed past her with his broad shoulders. 

“No I don't think she is, if you will excuse us we are going to go take Lydia home and tend to her injuries, unlike your irresponsible staff have decided to neglect. And we will get pictures as well, to use in a court case if you decide to follow expulsion as a reproduction.” Charles voice had a restrained growl in it, he was clearly pissed and ready to through a whole team of lawyers over the school, more specially the blond teen with the shit eating grin.

Delia and Lydia smiled proudly at Charles, he was tall and very intimidating compared to everyone else in the room and they loved it. They both knew Charles was a big softy at heart, but adore that he could be the “bad guy” if he so desired, or in their case if they so desired. 

Beetlejuice had just been watching from a distance, not wanting to get in Charles way, probably a little intimidated himself, or turned on. One of the two. Everyone loaded up into the car and headed home, explanations were given on the way.

Charles and Delia relaxed a little, they knew their daughter well she didn’t start fights without a damn good reason and they would support her throughout this entire mess and exhaust any means necessary. Charles wouldn’t be surprised if Claire’s mother attempted to sue or press charges. They would figure it out though, they were just so proud of their daughters strong morals.

Emily would be proud, Charles thought, she raised a fighter, a damn good one too it seems. Once they made it home, Barbara and Adam were bubbling over with concern and worry. Charles and Delia didn’t even have to play doctor, the Maitlands already had that covered. 

Beetlejuice stayed quiet for the most part, only jumping in to add details about how awesome Lydia was when she was retelling the story to the Maitlands. He was worn out, not as bad as the time before, but enough for him to need another nap later.

* * *

It was mid to late afternoon and Lydia was laying on her bed with a bag of frozen peas on her right eye, that was most definitely going to be a black eye by tomorrow. Beetlejuice was laying next to her on her left.

He was holding up her phone so she could see with her one uncovered eye and so he could also see as they watched tiktoks and other funny videos to pass the time. Both were low on energy but still way to awake to get a nap and in need of a good laugh.

This was soon interrupted by Delia calling for Lydia down stairs. “Lydia dear, you have guests.” Delia shouted, Lydia and Beetlejuice only gave each other odd looks before raising up to go downstairs.

However, they only made it to the door when they heard sounds of people running up the stairs and soon rapid knocks attack the opposite side of Lydia's door. Lydia got up, Beetlejuice standing a few feet behind her.

Lydia didn’t know what she was expecting but it wasn’t this. Shauna and Dani stood on the opposite side of her door, both very distraught. 

“Ghost dogs?! Snakes?! Lydia what the hell happened in that bathroom, because I sure as hell don’t believe what I saw?!?!” Shauna shouted pointing a finger at Lydia's chest.

“And who or what the H. E. double FUCK is he!” Dani added and pointed directly at Beetlejuice who stood wide eyed at his sudden presence being pointed out. 

Oh boy is all Lydia could thing. Oh Boy indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect another sketch sheet next chapter :D


	8. Game of Charades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia and Beetlejuice explain the situation to Dani and Shauna.  
Dani and Shauna meet Beetlejuice and the Maitlands officially.  
A sleep over is planned.
> 
> Mostly slice of life, teenage girls having fun sorta a thing in this chapter, nothing major and it is a little slow paced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sketch dump at the bottom!!!

Lydia and Beetlejuice only looked at each other as music came out of nowhere and Beetlejuice slid forward on his knees singing the same tune he had sung when he first discovered Lydia could see him. 

“I am gonna have two new best friennnnnnnnnnnds!” He sung only to slide right into Lydia hand which she purposely used to back hand him in the face. Dani and Shauna shrieked at his fast approach. Dani hiding behind Shauna and putting two fingers across each other to look like a makeshift cross.

“Don’t stick your fingers in his face” Lydia said annoyed. “He _will_ bite them” She supplied. Both Shauna and Dani quickly shoved their hands in their pockets as Beetlejuice was still rubbing his face from where he had been hit. 

Lydia led the two girls into her room and shut the door behind them. Beetlejuice was sitting on the ground like a small child in the middle of the floor. Clearly pouting from before.

“And to answer both of your questions.” Lydia laughed gesturing to the childish demon “This is my best friend Beej, he is to thank for the fun tricks you saw” She smiled, maybe a bit too evilly.

“Oh no no, this kid here pulled off the best part, the hounds was a great touch.” Beetlejuice supplied jumping up and floating above all their heights. Crossing his arms and floating on his stomach, resting his head on his arms, only to hold himself in place by resting his arms on top of Lydia’s head.

Lydia laughed, not even swatting him away, she was used to his clingy behavior. The other two took a step back at his sudden approach however. Lydia could feel a shift in Beetlejuice posture, he saddened a bit.

“Still I hate that I missed seeing you kick that blonds ass” Beetlejuice said perking up a little. Shauna and Dani agreeing with him, Lydia was incredible and they were very glad they didn’t miss it.

“It was awesome!” Dani said

“Yeah until her goons help Lydia back and starting full on kicking her ribs in.” Shuana said distressed but still a bit impressed by Lydia's bravery and durability.

“I don’t think any of us were a fan of that.” Lydia supplied, she reached up grabbing Beetlejuice wrist, she was sure his hair had gone purple or maybe even more red in distaste as the other two girls gave curious and uncertain looks above her head.

“Woah is he like a mood ring? Dani asked, speaking with her hands a bit.

Lydia laughed and Beetlejuice scowled. He was nothing like a mood ring, accept he was, he hated it. How would someone like it if their hair gave away most of their major emotions. 

“In a way, yes.” Lydia revealed, reaching up and cupping Beetlejuice’s face with her hands. “So when did you guys start seeing mr. mood ring up here?” She finally asked the question she had been wanting to since they arrived.

“Oh um” Dani said looking at Shauna for support. 

“I think after the hound thing?” Shauna added.

“It was weird like, he was see through, and not there for the most part, but there at the end.” Dani shifted a bit.

“It was after the snakes” 

“Yeah, yeah after the snakes we booked it and when we look back we saw this green haired guy in the suit.” 

“Hmmm interesting, that’s a new one for sure.” Lydia said, returning her hands to her sides.

“What do you mean?” Shauna asked

“Well no one can see Beetlejuice accept the recently deceased, well no one accept my family and you two now.” Lydia explained. 

“It's probably because I only share the plane of existence with the recently deceased, I don't entirely belong there.” Beetlejuice shrugged.

“Why’s that?” Dani asked what both her and Shauna were thinking.

“Oh, because I am a demon” Beetlejuice gave a toothy grin showing off his yellow teeth.

“Wait a minute, so you weren’t joking about the demon thing?” Shauna explained directing her attention to Lydia who shifted her wait to one leg and put a hand on her hip.

“Haha nope!” Lydia replied.

Dani looked panicked, very panicked. She held her head with her hands and tug at her short hair. “If there are demons does that mean there is a hell?! A heaven?! Am I going to go to hell or heaven?! Is there a god?!” Dani’s face went pale from her sudden crisis of faith.

Beetlejuice hummed and floated closer to Dani and put a dirty hand on her head, making her look up. “Yes, not in the way you think tho. Sorta times a lot. Don’t worry about that kid your like still a fetus. And no clue.” Beetlejuice gave her all her questions answers in order.

Dani stood shocked at the sudden touch. She looked up at him, just now noticing the odd stink that radiated off of him, it smelt low key like something had died. Well he did look sorta like a corpse, made sense.

Beetlejuice cackled and ruffled Dani’s short hair. “So calm down bud, enjoy life while you got it. I only had zero point to seconds of it and I had a blast.. Sorta” Beetlejuice scrunched his eyes and nose. Still not sure how he felt about the short moment he was alive.

Lydia laughed. “Ah yes, fun times.” Beetlejuice dramatically cried as he floated on his back placing his hands over where she had stabbed him is their last interactions. 

“You wound me, babes!” He laughed out. Dani and Shauna only gave them odd looks at their apparent inside joke. What they weren’t expecting was an arrow to come flying out of nowhere and pearce beetlejuice in the chest.

Lydia rolled her eyes and BJ made gurgling noises, pretending he was dying. She pulled the arrow out of his chest and it vanished from her hand.

“Don’t scare em to much.” Lydia added, pointing out the unnervous looks on Shauna’s and Dani’s faces, which soon turned to ones that were star filled and amazed.

“What was that?!” They shouted in unison. Lydia only laughed and Beetlejuice gave a cheesy grin.

“BJ being BJ” Lydia supplied.

“BJ? Wait a minute, if he was in the bathroom, was he with us at lunch? Oh god did he hear me say-” Dani cried remembered she had asked if BJ had stood for blow job, she was clearly embarrassed. 

“Sure was!” Beetlejuice laughed “And let me tell you it was beautiful, true poetry.” He made the ok symbol with one hand and wiped a tear from laughing away with the other. Dani laughed, she had calmed down significantly from before, so had Shauna they both seemed to be getting used to Beetlejuice very quickly.

“Ok so let me make sure I got this straight, your best friends with a demon who can make his hair change colors and make his puns come to life.” Shauna concluded. “How does that even work? How did you two meet? How do you become friends with a demon” Shauna started shouting off questions.

Beetlejuice and Lydia laughed. Lydia motioned for the two guests to get a pillow for themselves off her bed and lay in the center of her room on the rug in her floor. It was a large rug that features many flowers including lillied and a decorative skull as part of the design. It fit Lydia aesthetic perfectly, but that was a side topic for another time.

They each had a pillow and laid on their stomach inward, making a four person circle almost. Story time had begun. Lydia with the help of Beetlejuice explained the majority of the story, they left out all the parts past when her parents had come to ‘rescue her’. Mostly because they didn’t matter us much as the fun her and Beetlejuice had together.

Plus she didn’t really want to explain the whole marriage thing either, she was trying to make beetlejuice look good, not bad. Shauna and Dani had plenty of questions, some a little personal about things Beetlejuice hadn’t even revealed to her, mostly how his hair works and what other demons were like, he only said they were a lot less fun than him. Lydia deterred most sore questions to the best of her ability.

“So what does BJ or Beej stand for?” Dani piped in. Beetlejuice acted as if he was going to answer but nothing exited his mouth, he was sorely reminded that he couldn’t say his preferred name. 

“He can’t tell you.” Lydia explained. “It has to do with his summons, say it three times and well you have a chaotic demon running amok in the living plane.” Beetlejuice only outed at this, pushing out his lower lip like a child.

“Well we could always guess!” Shauna said giggling. Beetlejuice looked up eyes wide with excitement.

“Yes! Wanna play a game of Charades?” He asked the two girls in hopes they would summon him. It worked when Lydia wanted to know his name. The girls shouted yes is unison as a response only to my trampled by a loud “NO!” from Lydia.

Beetlejuice groaned. “Why noooooooottttt” He rolled over onto his back, tipping his head back to keep eye contact with his gothic best friend who kept ruining his fun.

“I am not allowed to summon Beetlejuice unless its an emergency, I am not about to get in trouble for you two summoning him.” Lydia huffed out her explanation. Shauna and Dani made a oh sound as they understood now.

“Why do you want to be summoned so bad, your here already right?” Shauna asked, not fully understanding.

“Yeah, why do you want out so badly, your not entirely invisible anymore Beej. Are we not enough, I thought we were best friends.” Lydia said in dramatic fake sorrow as she stood to her knees and laid a hand across her forehead as she said it. Acting as if she was going to faint from sorrow, purposely landing backwards onto Beetlejuice's stomach.

A loud oof sounded as the breath was knocked out of Beetlejuice. “Not a bean bag kid, been over this.” Beetlejuice complained, but didn’t push his friend’s resting head off his soft stomach. Dani and Shauna laughed.

“Answer me Beej.” Lydia drew out the e’s in his nick name and shouted this as she threw her arms up and back down. Once again smacking Beetlejuice in the face with her dramatic and childish behavior.

“What? Oh, yeah” Beetlejuice paused thinking about it. “Old habits die hard I guess.” he said. He pushed her hand out of his face, getting annoyed at getting smacked. What was she doing showing off in front of her friends, ugh probably. Lydia can be pretty commanding when it comes to being the center of attention, but beetlejuice didn’t have any room to talk. He was still worn out from earlier that day.

They three teenagers and demon all talked a bit more, Beetlejuice had started to drift off to sleep, however, which was his big mistake. It wasn’t necessarily a sleepover, but same rules applied, first one to fall asleep got pranked.  
They tied his hair into multiple little pig tails as well as drew on his face once he had fallen asleep. Beetlejuice had found it a lot easier to sleep when others were around, apparently Adams advice helped a lot. He had nightmares a lot less frequently when he knew someone was nearby, and on top of that he slowly felt a lot better in general when he was around everyone in the Deetz house.

This information, however, was to know benefit at the current point in time, as three teenage girls were having a blast doodling on his face. Lydia insisted they draw at least one penis, saying Beetlejuice would be upset if they didn’t and had the chance to. She knew him so well.

As they were finishing up a knock came from the door and Delia opened it to check in with the girls and chaotic demon as they had gotten quiet all of a sudden. Delia couldn’t help at laugh at the sight she saw.

“Oh gracious!” Delia giggled “You girls should have told me what you were doing and I would have helped.” She smiled, all three girls laughing along, no fear of waking the snoring demon.

“I wanted to tell you that your father is currently at the school talking with the administration, but they are set on giving you out of school suspension, but they have compromised somewhat, Claire would be receiving it as well.” Delia informed Lydia and her two guests. 

“Figures” Lydia sighed, she knew there would be repercussions for getting into a fight, at least it didn’t sound like she was getting expelled, her father's threat to get a legal team involved might have something to do with that however. 

“Oh!” Deia jumped up a little clasping her hands together. “Before I forget, are you girls spending the night?” She asked.

“Oh umm, I don't think so Mrs. Deetz, its a school night.” Dani replied and Shauna shook her head in agreeance. 

“Call me Delia or Del, dears, no Mrs.Deetz far to formal” Delia smiled warmly. “Alrighty, well I want you girls to know you welcome anytime you want to come over.” Delia have a small wave and exited the room heading down stairs.

“I didn’t even notice the time, it's getting late we should probably head back.” Shauna said sadly.

“Aw, can’t you guys stay a few more minutes?” Lydia begged

“I dunno…” Shauna drew out.

“I know!” Lydia shouted grabbed Dani and Shauna by the wrists. “You need to meet Barbara and Adam before you leave!” She pulled them into the direction of the attic.

“The ghosts?” Dani asked.

Lydia didn’t respond and burst through the attic door with her friends behind her. They had completely forgotten about Beetlejuice at this point. Barbara and Adam jumped at the sudden intrusion. The two had been working on the replica of the small town again.

“Oh hello!” Barbara gasped at the two new guests.

“Can they see us?” Adam asked, question only directed at Lydia.

“Yes, they can.” Lydia replied with a smile.

“O.M.G. Is that a replica of the entire town?!” Shauna almost screamed, running over to get a closer look.

“That is so cool!” Dani supplied.

Barbara and Adam laughed at their eager young guests. They set down their respective projects they were working on to ensure they wouldn’t be damaged and focused their attention on entertaining their guests.

“They have to leave in a minute, but I really wanted them to meet you.” Lydia said with a toothy smile.

“That is sweet of you, dear” Barbara replied. “I am Barbara Maitlands and this is my adorable husband Adam.” Barbara purposely added the adorable part to get a response from her husband. He blushed and kissed her on the cheek. 

“It is very nice to meet you two.” Adam said.

“Are you two really dead?” Shauna asked a bit morbidly. The Maitlands only laughed, their afterlives were a perfectly normal apart of, well for lack of better words, their life now.

“Yes, but I don’t think we make very good ghosts.” Barbara laughed “Or at least according to that crazy demon.” She looked back at her husband who only laughed along.

“Someone talking about me?” A raspy voice was heard coming from the table, it was a lot smaller sounded then normal. Everyone's attention went to the replica where they saw a small Beetlejuice standing on the table. He was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and still rocked the look the teenagers had given him before they left.

Everyone laughed at his appearance, beetlejuice seemingly unaware. Jokes were already forming in everyone's mind when a sudden buzz came from Dani’s phone.

“Aw my mom just text me, I need to get going before my curfew.” She said sadly. “If I don't they’ll lock me out again.” She gave an awkward laugh, Lydia and Shauna preyed she was joking but they didn’t have the time to ask before Shauna’s phone went off.

“Same here” she waved her phone, unenthusiastically. 

“Have a safe trip home girls” Barbara chimed.

“Good night, nice meeting you” Adam added, is wife agreeing with him on the last part.

“I will see you guys out.” Lydia said, holding out her hand for the miniature Beetlejuice to walk onto and ride on. They all made their way to the front door where they said their goodbyes to each other before the sun set.

“Make sure to ask your parents if you can come over soon, you two!” Lydia called out at the girls who were halfway off the porch.

“Sure!” The said in unison, giggling at each other. “Shoot for this weekend then?” Shauna asked.

“Sounds good!” Lydia replied, a small Beetlejuice still waving at the girls who could not stop giggling at his appearance, they couldn’t help it.

Lydia turned around and headed back inside, closing the front door behind her. She placed the tiny Beetlejuice on the back of the sofa, he returned to normal size, sitting on the top of the couch opposite of the way it faced.

“Want any help with.” Lydia paused gesturing to his face “that” she laughed, curious if he had caught on or not. He had.

“Nah, I think I am gonna make this my new look. Ya know, since you keep coming for my brand like you said before.” Beetlejuice laughed out in his raspy voice. 

“I didn’t say I was coming for your brand, I said you were afraid I was.” Lydia retorted heading back up the stairs.

Beetlejuice wiggled his finger, remaining downstairs. “Uh huh sure you did.” She replied with a shit eating grin. Lydia laughed as she went onto her room for the night. Beetlejuice was going to get situated to watch some TV when a sudden flash of light caught his attention.

There Delia stood with her phone out taking a picture at the demons ‘new look’. Laughing. Beetlejuice even posed for the next few, making finger guns and peace signs.

“Send those to me wont cha del?” Beetlejuice said which only got an eye roll from Delia and a slightly confused look. Did Beetlejuice even have a phone? Oh who cares, these pictures were hilarious.

* * *

#### Sketches from Chapter 6 and 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will go through and check for errors later, time for some sleep now haha


	9. Sleepover pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dani and Shauna come over the the Deetz house for a sleepover with a specific goth gal and your demonic best friend.  
Shenanigans range from gossip to eating bugs and making BJ go pink to riding a mattress down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I didn't forget about you lovely people! Sorry I disappeared for like a week!  
Also do keep me on my toes, you are welcome to ask on each and every damn chapter when I will update again, I may not have an answer but I love to see that y'all want to see more. Gets me off of my lazy ass, and even if I am busy I make time for this lol
> 
> \--  
Chapter Update Thursday! If something happens and I can't finish writing and post then it will be Friday at latest.   
It will be worth it I promise guys! Chapter 10 is going to be extra long and I will have an announcement alongside it!

Lydia was loving the fact that she didn’t have to go to school, the circumstances, where a bit different however. Lydia did have out of school suspension, but the good news was, so did that brat Claire. 

Charles was currently at the school trying to work out an agreement to keep Lydia from being expelled and the issue from being put on her record. However, something was going to give at some point.

Lydia didn’t care much about the school or her record, but she did like the two new friends she had made, and her parents did cough up the money for her to go to school, even though it wasn’t her choice she wouldn’t want to cause her family any issues for no reason.

Lydia sighed as her thoughts started collecting back to the present time in which she laid on her bed bored. She sat up swinging her legs high in the air for momentum, and dramatically pulled herself out of bed.

She leaned over her dresser which was located near her bed, poking at the tinder skin around her bruised eye. It was looking worse and better at the same time, the swelling had gone down but the coloration was darker than skin around Beetlejuice’s eyes.

She flinched a bit at a little too rough of a poke. Hopefully she wouldn’t need any more ice, plus Beetlejuice ate all the frozen peas, while they were still frozen. Lydia was more surprised that he ate anything remotely normal in the first place. 

Lydia sat back down and picked up her phone, scrolling through her text messages in a group chat with Shauna and Dani. She was being a bit impatient due to her boredom. They were supposed to come over a little after school so they could spend the night and hang out.

It would be a few hours until then, she had to find a way to entertain herself. At that thought as if on cue, Beetlejuice phased through her door, floating, knees bent and hands on the pockets of his striped coat.

“Yo” Beetlejuice announced simply, sounding bored out of his mind as well. “When are those two pals of yours gonna come back over” He floated over her bed and simply stopped floating, plopping down on his stomach and face. “The long haired one promised she would bring something special, and she said it was fooooooood” He groaned, voice muffled from his squished face.  


“After school, hopefully. No later than that.” She smiled and patted the back of his head. She laughed at his comment about his excitement concerning the food. Shauna had asked in advance if he really did like bugs, which Lydia of course answered yes and got the details about the large selection of candied critters you can purchase online. She knew Beetlejuice would love it!

Lydia had begun playing with Beetlejuice’s rough hair without realizing it, it was a very odd and somewhat gross texture, but it wasn’t horrible to the touch or anything. She wondered if the texture had anything to due with how it changed colors. 

Lydia’s inner scientist kicked in and she began wondering if his scalp secreted a type of mucus or chemical or maybe it was just like a glow stick that responded to signals based around his emotional state. Not a single word left her mouth however, she didn’t feel like being called a nerd at that very moment but the less than scientific demon.

That very demon seemingly enjoying having his hair played with. Lydia couldn’t blame him once she noticed, there was just something nice about someone playing with your hair, probably has something to due with social behavior and bonding. 

She didn’t mind at all, it reminded her that despite Beetlejuice’s insistence that he was a genuine demon straight from hell, he was a lot more human than one would first suspect. However, he did look like the corpse of an overgrown gremlin, but he would take that as a compliment. 

Lydia laughed internally, then removed her hand from his messy hair and wiped whatever dirt she had on the hand on the side of her bed. Beetlejuice had gotten quiet when he was being pet, so as soon as it had stopped he groaned in annoyance. 

Beetlejuice had seemed a lot more calm the past day or two, only causing a few shouts or screams from jump scares, but nothing major. That seemed to have a strong correlation, and most probably a causation with the fact that Lydia was home and giving him attention.

He was like a cat the bellowed and knocked things over when their person was away, but as soon as their back they curl up on their owner’s bed awaiting their rightfully earned pets. Which was a little too on the head with this situation. 

“So Beej, does it bother you at all that your going to be hanging out with a bunch of teenagers.” Lydia piped up, laughing a bit. She watched as Beetlejuice rolled over onto his back, still spread out like a starfish. He laughed, almost cackled.

“Teenagers are way more fun than adults or those slobbering parasites y’all start out as.” He waved his hand in the air as he talked. 

“What is your deal with babies, dude?” She laughed picking up on roughly the 3rd time in the past week he has referred to babies as parasites. Beetlejuice furrowed his eyebrows and held his hands out as if he was strangling something, the concept possibly.

“They are little weird things that get implanted into a person and suck the life out of them until they burst out!” Beetlejuice shouted “That. Is. A. Parasite.” He said each word with emphasis. Lydia only laughed. 

“Oh, and are demons so different?” She asked not really expected to find out if demons started out as babies or just came as grown adults or whatever was to be the case. “Surely y’all start out as babies in some context right?”

Beetlejuice almost looked like he was reliving something. “Demon babies are terrifying, don’t ever visit a nursery in hell” He finally said after a long pause, last part under his breath. Lydia only raised an eyebrow. “Thank God/Satan, it one of the good things about being banished from hell. I don’t have to put up with those tiny crack heads, or their teeth.” 

Beetlejuice zoned back in at this point, laughing as he added the last part about the teeth. “Got it, don’t feed baby demons after midnight.” Lydia laughed, standing up and straightening the wrinkles out of her PJ shirt.

“EXACTLY” Beetlejuice shouted, and they both laughed. Lydia loved the fact that the hell banished demon had gotten her reference and apparently watched the movie as well. 

“Still find it funny that you would rather hang out with a bunch of teenagers” Lydia laughed, picking out a striped shirt from her closet. It was very similar to Beetlejuice’s outfit accept the lines were a lot skinnier and more condensed than the ones on his outfit. (She really was coming for his brand, or as the author like to put it they are adorable siblings wearing matching outfits) 

Lydia continued to pick out the outfit she would change into, grabbing a pair of black jeans from her dresser droor. She turned her head around to see why Beetlejuice had not answered as quickly as possible only to find a greenish version of herself staring back.

Lydia jumped back a little, a shout escaping her before she laughed. There stood herself, more pale, green tips at the ends of her black hair, and of course it features Beetlejuice's newly discovered freckles. The second Lydia also wore a black and white striped dress that had the same structure and lace as the one she wore when she first met Beetlejuice. (ah yes her mourning dress) The biggest difference is now this second Lydia looked like she had too black eyes compared to other thanks to the purple coloration iconic to Beetlejuice's face.  


Beetlejuice leaned forward, hand behind his back fingers laced, shit eating grin plastered across, his well her face. If Lydia ever wanted to know what she would like as a corpse that had been dragged through a swamp and dressed by a clown, well now she knew.

“Since your so worried” Beetlejuice sung as he spun his the back of his hill. “Now I will fit right in.” He hummed at the end of the statement and squished his cheek against his shoulder. His now shoulder length curly hair poofing under his chin as he did so.

Lydia grabbed his… her own shoulders. Gosh this was getting confusing, but it was funny nonetheless. Lydia shoved beetlejuice back onto the bed. “Your a crackhead, change back.” She ordered, trying not to laugh.

Beetlejuice fell back with a shout, but quickly regained his composure before fluttering his long eye lashes and mimicking Lydia’s voice perfectly. “Not the dress!!” he shouted, she seemed to get more annoyed at him using her voice.

Lydia grabbed a pillow and began attempting to shove it into Beetlejuice’s faces, but he played dirty, even if he looked and appeared to be the same size as Lydia. He could still easily throw his weight around. They laughed and snorted as they attempted to best each other in their newly started wrestling match.

If anyone would have walked in it would have been one of those classic 'spot the difference', protagonist and their evil or less than perfect replica clone sorta deal. Their wrestling match ended when Beetlejuice got the upper hand and shoved the pillow in Lydia’s face, which he did not remove despite her protests.

Beetlejuice learned real quick that even though he still had the same mass as he did in his normal form, when a Breather needs to BREATH, they will kick your ass, or more specifically face. When Lydia’s muffled protests only landed on deaf ears _(although she was getting the same treatment she gave Beetlejuice)_, she was able to get her leg up and kick the demon as hard she could in the face.

He fell back on the ground beside her bed, clearly unhappy that he now has a shoe print on his face, or rather that he felt the shoe print on his face. “Brat!” He grumbled. And Lydia pulled the pillow off her face and threw it at him.

“I’m the brat? Your like a little brother.” Lydia shouted, getting an evil glare from Beetlejuice who was still in his form that resembled a bootleg Lydia. "A snotty little bratty brother!" Beetlejuice lunged at her leg in an attempt to pull her off the bed as well, but she beat him to it and took off running out of room and down the stairs. “Nice try, Shit head!” Lydia shouted back. The race was on.

The two made as much racket as the possibly could have as they shouted and ran into everything and after each other. Periodically switching who was the one chasing who depending on who had the best weapon. Adam and Barbara heard the racket and watched from the top of the stairs in horror.

“Lydia put the knife down!” Adam shouted, only to realize that two Lydia’s were staring back at him. He yelped nervously. The Lydia that was pinned on the ground with a knife aimed at their head replied in a deep raspy voice. Oh it was just beetlejuice, thank goodness.

“A-dog, B-town!” He shouted in glee, teleporting out of harm's way, and reappearing in the air right infront Adam and Barbara. Lydia looked ticked that she didn’t get to threaten the demon more with the kitchen knife.

Lydia looked up placing a hand on her hip as she realized what Beetlejuice was doing and also what he had forgotten to do. Adam and Barbara looked a bit surprised but their expression soon melted into one of shared annoyances. Beetlejuice was flirting.

Lydia suspicions were confirmed when the curled ends of Beetlejuice’s hair started turning pink. He had forgotten to change into his normal appearance, so that explained the original surprised looks Adam and Barbara had when it looked like it had been her who began floating and flirting.

Beetlejuice had said something corny and of course perverted but Adam and Barbara couldn’t help but laugh because he looked like Lydia but sounded like someone who has smoked for 40 odd years. 

“How about you play with someone your own age.” Barbara said pinching Beetlejuice's cheek not even acknowledging beetlejuice's attempts at flirting, granit, they were not very good, it was Beetlejuice afterall. 

Beetlejuice’s face contorted in a classic Beetlejuice pouty scowl, however with Lydia's features. He grumbled and floated down next to Lydia who was laughing so hard she had grabbed her sides and a snort escaped her.

Before anything could be said Charles finally made it home. He opened the door and saw Lydia… Lydias?? He was exhausted from arguing with multiple ‘karens’ ™ and really needed a nap. He attempted to focus on one of the versions of his daughter.  
“Hello sweetheart” He patted her head, which was actually Beetlejuice’s. His face contorted in disgust at the sudden gross texture his hand was met with and he soon wiped his hand on the outside of his jacket. 

“Hey daddy.” The real Lydia piped up, trying not to laugh too much, she was having fun with this.

“The school has agreed not to suspend you for the time being, but you and Miss Brewster both will be on probation in a sense.” He yawned, covering his mouth with the same hand he had patted Beetlejuice’s head with only to find it now had a strange smell. He quickly removed it.

Delia soon came in the living area, shutting the front door from where Charles had mistakenly left it open. “Come along dear.” She hummed, attempting to hear him towards their bedroom. “You really should use some rest, an odd breeze could knock you over.” He followed his orders.

Charles swayed a bit and hummed in response to his wife. Delia only chuckles at him when her attention is brought to the two Lydia’s in the living area. It is clear which one is Beetlejuice, if the attire or color palette didn’t give it away the sharp yellow teeth making up the demon’s classic shit eating grin did.

“Oh I always wanted Twins” Delia cheered playing along and making her way over to her book she had been reading for the past week or so. Beetlejuice and Lydia just rolled their eyes. Beetlejuice’s attention soon sneakily made its way back to the Maitlands.

He had completely forgotten about looking like Lydia, and for some reason he was actually embarrassed. His whole thing was acting a fool, but sometimes, and beetlejuice puts lots of mental emphasis on the word sometimes, he gets a little flustered around those two.

In a puff of smoke Beetlejuice is back to his normal looks, no longer on the verge of copyright infringement when it comes to Lydia’s style and looks. He floats lazily next to Lydia who only laughs at his sudden change in appearance, his little attempt at courting the two Maitlands still fresh in her mind.

“Oh, so we are done with the who’s who game are we?” Lydia hummed walking towards one of the front windows and opening the currens more, so they could see the entirety of the window and the view outside. “Wanna just wait for Dani and Shauna down here?” She looked back at the pouting demon, he just shrugged. 

Lydia looked up at her two ghostly godparents who has started a conversation with each other at the top of the stairs, but we're keeping a noticeable eye on the three downstairs. Then it hit her, she was still in her PJs.

“Oh shoot, I will be right back, I forgot to change.” She told Beetlejuice so he wouldn’t mistakenly follow her. He had a bad habit of following her around like a cat or a small child, usually when he was bored though.

Lydia made it up to her room to change, passing the Maitlands who only gave her a look and a small wave to acknowledge her existence and behavior. They were whispering to one another and giggling abit. Plotting, that's what it was they were plotting.

Beetlejuice shifted his weight where he stood before moving over the couch. He glanced up at the two whispering ghosts, he just rolled his eyes. He didn’t know why he cared so much about what they thought. That was it. He wasn’t going to care, like usual. He turned the TV on to distract him.

* * *

Beetlejuice and Lydia had piled up on the couch watching a sad movie, Beetlejuice laughed hysterically as the woman dramatically cried at the hospital bed of the dying man. They were interrupted when the doorbell rang, both practically jumped off the couch to get to the door.

Lydia slung the door open to see her two friends, both their backpacks full to the brim with clothes and other essentials. Maybe a few goodies as well. They quickly made their way up the stairs, Lydia announcing to the residence of the house that her guest where here.

“Ooo I am so excited.” Shauna sang as she ran up behind Dani and Lydia who were going up the stairs. She maneuvered her bag off her back and had it her arms wrapped around it tightly, as if she was trying to contain her excitement within the bag itself.

“Did I miss anything big at school? Anyone still giving you two a hard time?” Lydia asked, as she opened her door letting her two guests in. Beetlejuice had already teleported there, sitting patiently, or well as patient as the hyperactive demon could be, sitting on the pallet they had made out of blankets and pillows on the floor.

The little set up included anything that would cushion their bodies from the floor and every pillow and stuffed animal Lydia owned, it was all piled up on her fluffy floor rug. Lydia had managed to get Beetlejuice help in moving her TV which was originally set up on a higher stand moved to the floor without any real damage. That was a miracle in and of itself.

Lydia turned around to find her guests were giving each other odd looks, ones that were a mix of nervous and sympathetic. Shauna took a breath and passed her bag over to Dani who placed them on to Lydia bed.

“Yes and no, there hasn’t been any major craziness” Shauna paused glancing over at Beetlejuice when she said the word craziness. “Rumors have already started” She returned her attention to Lydia. Lydia’s expression seemed to perk up even more.

“Well don’t leave me hanging, I want to know!” Lydia laughed, turning around to face Shauna fully and placing her hands on her hips.

“Basically Claire’s lackies have started rumors about you being a witch of all things” Shauna admitted giving an awkward laugh. The two guests had suspected Lydia might not react well to this but were entirely wrong.

Both Lydia and Beetlejuice laughed. “Is that it?” Beetlejuice hummed, looking over at Lydia who was trying to cover her mouth as she laughed.

“That is the worst they got?” Lydia found great humor in all this. “I have had worse spread about me in Kindergarten.” Lydia exaggerated, well hopefully that was an expiration.

“Well I did hear that some girls think your a demon worshiper” Shauna cocked an eyebrow and added this part for humor. Beetlejuice snorted.

“Pretty sure that's the other way around.” Lydia laughed and throwing her comment towards Beetlejuice who laughed and protested.

“As if! I am the only demon you know and that is SO not the case” He laughed. Beetlejuice also began reaching for Dani and Shauna’s bags for the promised treats while they were distracted only to get his hand smacked by Dani. He scowled.

“Oh really?” Lydia gave a cocky laugh and began to quote Beetlejuice from when they first met “Don't make me beg, ok ok I am begging” she continued “You could use a buddy” she laughed and snorted. Beetlejuice gave her an angry look. “And on and on you went”

“You were going to jump!!!” He shouted his counter argument, getting onto his feet. “I sure as heck don't ‘worship’ you but can you blame a demon for being excited? You're the first breather to ever see me without summoning me!! That's never happened before!!” Beetlejuice paced towards Lydia who was just laughing at the distraught demon.

“See he thinks I'm special” Lydia sung still making fun of the angry demon. Dani and Shauna cackled. Beetlejuice threw his hands annoyed.

“My opinion has changed, Teens officially suck.” Beetlejuice grumbled crossing his arms. The three teens only laughed and poked fun. Lydia brings up the demon baby thing and what little color Beetlejuice had in his face drained for a moment. Beetlejuice’s horror were these three teen’s comedy.

* * *

As they continued to poke fun at the pouting and grumbling demon, Shauna eventually got bored and decided to make true on her promise to bring Beetlejuice a surprise, especially a surprise involving food. She grabbed her bag and dumped it on the rug in the middle of the room.

“Oh BJ” Shauna sang as thick packages of candied critters fell out onto the floor. From suckers and hard candy with various insects to dried out scorpions coated in sugar and honey. Literal stars could be seen in Beetlejuice eyes.

“O.M.G.” Beetlejuice gasped and scooped up a package or three in his arms. He summoned a green bean bag chair that had a series of stitches on it and plopped down into it only to begin tearing open the packages of edible critters. 

“Found all these online, they were super cheap too!” Shauna smile turned mischievous “Which mean you could totally get more once you run out.” She added, Lydia glared at her. She didn’t need Beetlejuice acting any more like a little child, wanting this and that.

Lydia looked down to see Beetlejuice with puppy dog eyes and a mouth full of suckers that had all types of bugs inside them. Garbled noises attempted to escape his mouth, but his words failed. Lydia could help but laugh, “Maybe,” she finally gave in just so he could put those puppy dog eyes away, didn’t help that the demon could shape shift, he probably used his magic to make his eyes more convincing.

Dani reached over for her back and compiled what Shauna had done earlier with the contents of the bag. Normal junk food and other snacks fell out this go around. Enough for all three of them to enjoy without a greedy demon eating them all. 

They all piled up in the pallet, Beetlejuice nearby still in his bing back chair completely happy with the fact he had so many new types of bugs to eat on. They put on a bunch of old movies, mostly early horror movies and series, the classics.

“Do you watch anything other than horror movies?” Dani finally asked, getting a cackle from Beetlejuice who already knew the answer to that question.

“Nope!” Lydia laughed throwing a handful of cheese puffs into her mouth. 

“Hey Lydia” Dani shifted a bit uncomfortably, but regained confidence soon after. “You really don’t care what people thing do you?” Dani finally spit out.

“Why should I? People suck” Lydia laughed out her response, looking over at Dani who had a mixed expression on her face. Lydia realized this was a more serious than joking sort of situation. “My mom always told me that people are usually too caught up in their own lives to want to poke their head into yours, so like, I sorta just go off that. Plus people who do get in your business usually have no life of their own, so there's that.”

Dani seemed content with answer she received, blushing a bit, feeling much happier. A lot more had been on Dani’s mind then she would ever say. A lot of internal stuff mostly, specially stuff about who she was and was going to be, so hearing that after all Lydia had just been through rumors and all, was nice to hear.

“Plus you literally can’t get embarrassed when Beetlejuice is around, he is too busy embarrassing himself.” Lydia retorted lighting the mood. She through her hand back gesturing to Beetlejuice who wasn’t paying much attention with her thumb.

“Wat?” He half mumbled before replaying the sentence over in his head “Hey!” He shrunk down into the bea bag further. “What is it, pick on BJ day?” He grumbled, shoving a large handful of scorpions into his mouth. 

Lydia had not realized it but Dani and Shauna picked up on the fact she had said Beetlejuice’s full name, the same name she wouldn’t tell them. They took that information and kept it in the back of their minds. Shauna looked over at the grumbling demon and held her hand out.

“Give me one, I want to try some” Shauna ordered the demon, he cocked his brow at her. She laughed a little and opened and closed her fingers, sigling she was serious.

“Humans eat bugs?” Beetlejuice asked in genuine curiosity as he handed her a couple of scorpions. He didn’t even continue chewing or grab another handful he was too intrigued if she would actually do it, which she did.

She seemed perfectly fine with trying it until she bit into it. “It's an odd texture that's for sure.” she swallowed the part she had bit off hard. However, she didn’t say she disliked it, she continued to gnaw on the scorpion like beef jerky as the movie continued. 

Beetlejuice was amazed. Speechless even, the other picked up on that and laughed. 

“Woah who new BJ could be stunned into silence.” Dani laughed.

“Last time he was like this was when he thought harassment and crude jokes actually won over Adam and Barbara.” Lydia struck a low blow at Beetlejuice with that statement.

“Hey those jokes worked on everybody else I hooked up with.” Beetlejuice pulled a sucker with a spider in it out of his mouth and pointed it at Lydia and shook it like an adult which shake their finger at a misbehaving child.

“Mmhmm sure” Lydia challenged “So if their so effective then why don’t they work on the Maitlands hmm?” she snickered.

“Because they dull and lame with no sense of humor” Beetlejuice retorted “All they do is coo and giggle at each other like a bunch of love birds” He grumbled the second part bothered him a bit, it showed.

Dani turned the volume down on the tv and both her and Shauna turned to face the dynamic duo. “So Beej is into guys and gals, at the same time? Good on you.” Shauna asked, giggling a little. Teenagers loved talking about crushes.

“Big Time” Lydia replied widening her eyes and raising her fingers apart to emphasize her statement. She looked over at Beetlejuice “And don't give me that, the other night you were gushing over how they flirt with each other and their jokes and pet names” Lydia continued but was interrupted.

Beetlejuice made a bunch of shushing noises and attempted to throw a finger over Lydia mouth. The commotion did halt her continuation of the list though. Beetlejuice face, hair, and even his eyes had turned a bright shade of pink. “STAHP” she finally stumbled out.

“Aww thats so sweet!” Dani cooed

“It is, who new Bug Boy over here liked cutesy romance stuff” Shauna tagged on.

“I do not!” Beetlejuice argued 

“Bull shit!” Lydia announced. “You are so obsessed with those two, if you like them some much just tell them!” She explained, finally bring this up in hopes that her friends would act as back up.

“Yes you got to tell them!!!” Dani and Shauna stated in some variation and in unison.

“What no?!” Beetlejuice stammered back and tried to sink to the bean bag out of sight. 

“And why not?” Shauna stood on her knees hands on her hips. She was going to get the answer out of him whether he liked it or not. Beetlejuice mumbled under his breath. “What was that?” He mumbled again. “What? You gotta speak up I can’t hear you?” She teased.

“Their married!” He finally shouted so they could all hear, his new pink hue seemed to only further. “Plus three’s a crowd” he grumbled a bit quieter than his first statement. He pouted.

“Look Beej, there is no harm in telling them how you feel, who knows maybe they will like you back? Poly relationships are a thing after all.” Dani smiled at him, at lot calmer than the other two teens.

“Wah?” Beetlejuice asked, said? He placed his head into the palm of his hand which was being held up by his elbow placed on his knee. He was now very interested.

“I don’t know the official terminology” Dani blushed a bit, scratching at the back of her head. “But basically it's a loving relationship between more than just two persons, it's all consensual too so that's always a plus.” Dani explained speaking with her hands some, splaying her fingers apart at the end to mimic tiny fireworks.

Beetlejuice just stared, listening with stars in his eyes, literal stars, shape shifting demon. Lydia jumped at the opportunity. “See thats the face he makes at Dad-land and Mom-land” She shouted pointing the demon. 

“Is not!” He cried “Is too!” She laughed. This continued back and forth before Shauna finally had enough. She grabbed the two who had leaned towards each other as they argued their two word statements. 

“Enough! If I wanted to listen to little siblings bickering I would just go back home!” Shauna explained. Revealing she had two younger siblings. Hmm Neat. Dani laughed as the three created a commotion. 

“I have an idea, let's talk about everyone else's crushes too!” Shauna proposed. “That way the focus isn’t completely on Beetlejuice” She said. Beetlejuice at some point had put his hands on his face and he dragged them down pulling the skin with them. Making both a silly face and an annoyed one.

“Thank you” Beetlejuice said, drawing out the two words as the drug his hands down his face. Clearly pleased at the idea of the teens making fun of something or someone else that wasn’t him. Damn he already got a strike to his ego when he embarrassed himself earlier, he didn’t need anymore help. 

Dani seemed to get really flustered at this idea, and Lydia seemed unamused, each with their respective reasons why. Shauna hummed and started flipping through her phone and began showing off pictures of boys from social media, most being influencers or way too old for her.

“You just wanted to show off cute boys didn’t you?” Lydia asked unamused.

“Maybe” Shauna sang as she continued to internally coo at the baby faced boys on her screen and she swung her legs in the air behind her. “You two are welcome to elaborate on who you like and I will keep these cuties to myself.” She grinned.

“I.. um” Dani got even more flustered and kept looking over at the distracted girl next to her. It was obvious now why Dani was so uncomfortable, Dani’s crush was Shauna. Beetlejuice and Lydia gave each other a look that almost looked as if they were reading each other's mind, they new and a smug looked crossed their faces. They kept quiet, however.

“Anytime today girls” Shauna said, finally looking up from her phone. Dani quickly looked away and only shrugged. “Alrighty, Dani is out, how about you Lydia?” Shauna said leaning towards the goth.

“I don’t know” Lydia shrugged unamused “I mean there are a lot of aesthetically pleasing people out there I guess, but crushes and dating isn’t really a priority of mine.” Lydia concluded only getting a glance from Shauna.

“That's fair, mad respect man” Shauna admitted, “At least I got BJ over here, he can gush over some cute boy with me since he likes them too” She said standing up and plopping next to the demon who only looked distraught at the fact that he now had to scooch over.

Shauna put her phone in front of BJ and began scrolling, “These are my top would mother their child list” Shauna explained, which was in fact the name of the folder on her phone that held the collection of way too attractive men. Beetlejuice watched unamused until a specifically cute one dressed as a nerd went across the screen which they both awed at.

Dani and Lydia laughed at the two. “So Beej... do you have a type when it comes to men?” Dani asked, adding to the funny scene in front of them. Dani, however did not expect an answer in unison from both Lydia and Beetlejuice.

“Adam” The both said, Lydia was the only one out of the two to react though, she snickered and Beetlejuice and Shauna kept scrolling and pointing at phone.

* * *

Soon enough Lydia and Dani got bored and started looking up fun ideas to do at sleepovers. They couldn’t really due the summoning evil spirits or demon games, they already got that part of the sleep over covered. Then they found it, it was a video of an adults sliding down a staircase on a matrice.

Dani and Lydia were able to quickly get Beetlejuice’s and Shauna’s attention with this idea. They stripped Lydia’s bed to bare mattress and Beetlejuice floated it as the other three maneuvered it to the sairs. 

“Oh want to go down it first!” Shauna shouted.

“Me too!” Dani and Beetlejuice shouted in unison.

“We can all go, will you hold in place and push us off with your magic BJ?” Lydia laughed and Beetlejuice nodded. They all proceeded to climb onto the mattress that was angled to go straight down the long staircase. It had a green glow surrounding it as Beetlejuice held it place.

“Everyone ready?” Beetlejuice asked. Each teen chimed off a ready in response to the demon A stop light appeared above them, floating in the air. looked up and laughed in excitement. Each time the light changed color making its way down the box it let out a noise that indicates the change. 

As it turned green they were all sent flying down the staircase, which seemed a lot longer than it was prior. Beetlejuice was very skilled at manipulating reality and it was a breeze because the house was inside the shared haunting parameters. Chances are Beetlejuice intentionally made the ride down the stairs loads more fun.

They all screamed and cheered as they finally made it the bottom, each teen more frazzled then the next, however non topping Beetlejuice’s natural frazzled look. “Again?!” Beetlejuice shouted more than asked. They cheered and he snapped his fingers teleporting them all back to the top of the stairs.

Dani and Shauna let out some shrieks and woahs at the sudden displacement in reality, Lydia laughed. “First time teleportation gets ya” She said between giggles. They rode the ever changing staircase a multitude of times. There were even some Loopty loops, and no one knew how BJ pulled those off.

After the last ride down, which was extra fun as Beetlejuice thought it would be hilarious to float the matrice around the room once or twice like a magic carpet just to scare the teens. They finally fell from their air and landed with a loud oof. 

“Oh my” Adam snounded off, Adam and Barbara stood right in front of where the mattress had landed not entirely expecting is sudden and a little too close for comfort decent.

“Having fun lovelies?” Barbara asked while holding a small box, fingers laced around it. She got a series of yups and yeahs as her response. “Wanna have a little more fun ~” She said mischievously.

Barbara held out the box to reveal it was a classic Cards Against Humanity card deck and the three teens cheered, well more like screeched in unison and excitement. The quickly climbed off the mattress and stood up around the two Maitlands awaiting to play.

“What's Cards against hum- whatever it was” Beetlejuice asked slowly floating up to everyone else's height rather then standing normally. Everyone gasped, and the author means everyone. Delia who was in the other room gasped and poked her head around the corner with a look of shock.

“Your telling me, the most perverted person, eh uh, Demon I know doesn’t even know about this hysterical card game” Adam said dramatically putting a hand on his hips. Beetlejuice shrugged feeling a little uneasy at all the stairs directed at him.

Barbara and Adam grabbed onto Beetlejuice’s iconic striped jacket. “Oh this is going to be so much fun” Adam explained getting a little to close in Beetlejuice faces, wide eyed. 

“Come on come on” Barbara herded everyone into the kitchen to set up the game, Beetlejuice was still flustered by the fact that the two Maitlands still had a hold of his jacket and just pulled him around like a balloon on a string.

And oh boy was Beetlejuice in for a surprise, Cards Against Humanity was just his type of game~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 will be plenty of fun so stay tuned!  
\--  
Chapter Update Thursday! If something happens and I can't finish writing and post then it will be Friday at latest.   
It will be worth it I promise guys! Chapter 10 is going to be extra long and I will have an announcement alongside it!r />  
\--  
Update on grammar and stuff, did a fast run through fixes what I saw. There of course will be odd formatting with sentences but I like the chaos but thank you to all that pointed out my big mistakes it is very appreciated, lots of love <33


	10. Sleepover pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From a game gone wrong to pizza and movies, and from a pillow fight to a game of dress up three teens and a demon, as well as two ghosts get into a world of trouble and lots of fun. A pillow fight is won with a single kiss.  
\--  
I am stopping there, there is too much in this to summarize. You guys, I love you all so much, I spent all week on this. Please I hope you love it! I even did drawings.
> 
> NOTE: I have not proofread this, if I was going to proofread it you wouldn't get it uploaded until probably sunday or monday, so just ignore multiple days of mistakes for the time being lol Love you guys <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god this is the most I have ever written, and I BROKE THIS INTO TWO PARTS OML lol
> 
> I will get to all errors later, you are welcome to help me point them out if you just want to lol
> 
> I was literally typing this during my 7 year old brothers soccer game tonight just to finish it, lol

Cards Against Humanity didn’t end the way they thought it would. Watching a demon look like he was having an asthma attack was not on anyone's ‘must see before I die’ list that's for sure. 

Everyone in the household, excluding Charles at the start, sat around the dining room table and the cards were dealt out and the game began. Beetlejuice quickly picked up on the type of game it was and oh boy was he loving it.

It was obvious that Beetlejuice would be the best at this game, it was literally the card game version of his entire dictionary, but everyone was quickly proven wrong. There were three major groups when it came to humor.

Delia and Beetlejuice humor was the most sexual and oriented around orgies as well as using odd things while doing ‘butt stuff’. Shauna, Lydia, and Barbara were the next group, their humor was the most violent or media oriented. These combinations made the game hilarious.

The most unexpected group was soon found in Adam, Dani, and later Charles, they all managed to get the best cards their various expansion packs had. Their humor was a beautiful mix of slightly perverted, sexual, and heavy on the weirdness and references to actual events. 

Dani and Adam didn’t necessarily play by the rule, they started sharing their cards and helping the other, their goal was to put out the funniest card and at one point it became obvious that they were holding back. Their poorly hidden laughter and snickers meant they found a good card, however was saving it for a perfect opportunity.

Charles eventually woke up from the noise and joined in quickly to play the beloved game. Although Charles humor landed near Dani and Adam when it came to this game, he just couldn’t get any good cards. All the throw away cards were at his disposal, sadly.

The best one he was able to put out involved a bowl of toenail clippings. It got a few laughs, but when Beetlejuice made the simple comment of “Yum” there was a more of a reaction, mostly of disgust. (Even the author hopes that Beetlejuice was joking, although it would explain why it sounded like someone took a blinder and shoved it down his throat)

Beetlejuice was living it up with this game, he loved every minute of it, his attention was mostly focused on Adam and Barbara, however. They had presented this dirty little game and once Beetlejuice learned more about it, it became harder and harder to believe that these were the same Maitlands he watched die and harassed as soon as their souls floated out of the hole they fell in.

They were so innocent and pure in his eyes, but so freaking good at this game. But! The question was who was better? Beetlejuice made this his mission, but was nowhere near ready for what happened next.

Beetlejuice had the fun job of being the Czar and the black card was one that mentioned a dinner party and what was on the menu, or something of the like. The context of the black card wasn’t what stuck in Beetlejuice’s mind it was a specific white card handed to him by a specific ghost with a message attached to it.

Beetlejuice collected all the white cards that were tossed across the table to his direction. He read each one out dramatically, switching his voice, and if he had guessed who gave it to him then he used their voice. This obviously resulted in some red faces.

Beetlejuice made it through the handful of cards, it seemed a bit short however. He started looking for what he was missing. There were eight people playing total, which meant there were seven white cards, but Beetlejuice only had six. 

Beetlejuice double counted, he looked a little confused. He wasn’t good at counting, just memorizing numbers. He looked up to see if anyone’s faces would give the answer to his mild confusion, not really worried about them suspecting him of anything. He liked being dramatic and waiting to announce his pick when he was the Czar during previous plays.

His answer soon came when he looked up to see a snickering Dani and Adam looking at him with a confident look on his face, paired with a smirk. Beetlejuice internally squeaked a little, just at this sudden new face he wasn’t sure he had ever seen Adam make.

Adam held out the card for Beetlejuice to grab, he did so a little wearily. He went to pull it out of Adams grip but it didn’t budge. He looked up at Adam who leaned forward and said some very important words.

“I ask you to recall that dinner party that we crashed.” Adam said smugly… he could do that? Sweet little Adam? Smug, cocky, this was going to be fun, everyone thought. Adam had said it loud enough for everyone to hear but it was obvious it was directly at Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice gave a half chuckle and took the card, reading out the original black card and then the white one he was given. Only now getting a good look at it, he began to read aloud.  


“Balls Deep in a squealing-” Beetlejuice bit his tongue. He laughed aloud, snorting a bit. “In a” he tried to contain his laughter. “Squealing hog” Beetlejuice lost it. Adam was clearly referencing the large roasted pig that was meant to be the main course of the Deetz business dinner, and the fact that it had been possessed to chase the guests around.

Beetlejuice wheezed and everyone laughed along. Beetlejuice started slamming his fist on the table making it shake, but no one paid it much mind. Shauna and Dani laughed at the initial joke but soon wanted to be let in on the inside joke this odd family had.

Dani’s eyes lit up as she remembered the story Lydia had told her, THE dinner party that Lydia told them about, the one Lydia and her paranormal accomplices crashed. She looked at Adam then Lydia “Ok I get that there was a dinner party and shenanigans ensued, but please, I need the details on this one” She laughed, covering her mouth. “Specifically because of THAT” She gestured to Beetlejuice who was still laughing but it sounded like loud wheezes as his face was getting increasingly more red.

“Yes fill us in, girl!” Shauna shouted, trying to stifle her laughter so she could get a stable sentences out.

Lydia and soon everyone pitched in a more detailed description of events, everyone's point of view just added to the mass high everyone was experiencing. Laughter was extremely contagious it seemed.

“Barbara did an AMAZING job with the pig!” Adam concluded their explanation, they had all sounded out Beetlejuice laughter, or so they thought. Beetlejuice’s laughing and wheezing was no longer audible, his chest heaved as he tried to stop his laughter.

It took another minute or two for everyone to calm down, the game had not continued yet. Beetlejuice over lapped his forearms against the edge of the table and leaned his forehead on them looking down. He was trying so hard to stop laughing.

“Dude are you ok?” Lydia put a hand on Beetlejuice’s arm. She could not help but continue laughing.

“My chest” Beetlejuice attempted to say but it came as a mumble. He faced up, looking at everyones amused faces “I have not laughed that hard in ages” he wheezes. His chest and shoulders still shuddered as he fought back giggles. “Or used my lungs that much”

“Oh so demon boy does have lungs” Shauna said sarcastically.  


“Not after that” Beetlejuice breathed out. Demons were weird, they had lungs like humans, but it was sort of aside effect of having a humanoid appearance. Ghosts where a bit different, they had the afterimage of lungs, they could still breath although they had no need to. Beetlejuice currently wishes he was a ghost, because his chest hurt from laughing so much. 

Adam had an evil glint in his eyes, he leaned over the distance between him and Beetlejuice.  
“Beetlejuice” Adam said without a specific emotion to relay his intentions. 

Beetlejuice still trying to tamper down his laughter, but looked up and gave Adam his attention. Adam had this mix of mischievous but serious look in his eyes and the silent pause made it even more effective. 

Once eye contact was made, Beetlejuice watched as one of Adam’s nose be lifted slightly as was his top lip. He made a loud snorting noise that heavily resembled a pigs iconic snort. Everyone's eyes seemed to widen as laughter consumed the room again. 

“ADAM!” Barbara attempted to scold but was too busy laughing at him. She watched as Beetlejuice put a dirty hand over his mouth to conceal his own laughter. Beetlejuice breathed out heavily through his nose.

“Ohmygosh” Beetlejuice brought his other hand to his face, trying to prevent his laughter, but it could still be heard, muffled by his hands. Adam took this as a challenge, an evil grin, something no one but Barbara had seen, came across his face.

Adam placed a hand on the table to maneuver himself forward a bit more and leaned down closer to Beetlejuice level. Adam repeated the same snorting noise but was cut short but a large and dirt covered hand being placed on his cheek and pushing him away.

“Stop” Beetlejuice wheezes heavily “it”. Beetlejuice’s hair was a mixture of bright greens, it almost glowed. It had been obvious green was his default or happy color, but the pink was still a mystery, sure when he was bashful it occured, but now?? Hmm.

Adam raised his head up with the push from the hand that was angled below him, Beetlejuice only standing partially to make sure Adam was pushed almost back to infront of his seat. Adam didn’t even attempt to move for a minute he just laughed. 

The laughter continued and eventually Adam returned to his seat, they couldn’t seem to top of get over that last joke that still had Beetlejuice chest shaking from how hard he had laughed over it. So they ended the game there, everyone was getting hungry and it was time for dinner anyways.

* * *

Delia had went to the store prior to the sleep over and gathered the material for home made pizzas. Adam and Barbara prepped the sauce and helped the teens with the crusts as they themselves could not eat the pizzas. 

Beetlejuice insisted he get one as well, specifically one to himself, claiming he was a whole pizza type of guy anyway. Maybe multiple, but he wasn’t going to push his luck.

They eventually made it to assembly, what they would top their pizzas with. Shauna loved putting everything on her pizza while Dani was the exact opposite, only eating Cheese. Lydia however, would eat about anything, well except for Beetlejuice pizza.

Beetlejuice promptly put not only pineapple of all things on his pizza, but also Beetles. Not even any that Shauna had bought him, they were the ones he kept in his coat pockets, although Lydia was pretty sure he summoned them. Worst part was the were cockroaches, making them even less appetizing. 

“You are NOT putting that in the oven at the same time we put in.” Lydia scolded.

“What?! Why not?” Beetlejuice protested.

“Look whats on it!” Dani chimed in, gesturing towards the roach and pineapple pizza.

“You breathers and Pineapples.” Beetlejuice started rolling his eyes.

The three teens just looked at him like he was stupid as their patience ran out. They ended up having to gate keep the freaking oven to prevent him from putting roach pizza in it while theirs was cooking. 

Beetlejuice stood in front of them, tapping his foot angrily. The three teens only glared back, it was like an old western standoff, without guns, just hygiene and cooking safety at play. However, they soon found they had a secret weapon.

Adam and Barbara caught on to the argument, and made their way over the oven. Beetlejuice had no seen or heard them, they made sure to float a little. Lydia caught on their scheme almost immediately, knowing her ghostly god parents as well as she did.

Both Adam and Barbara got to a different side of Beetlejuice, still positioned behind him. The put their faces closer to his ears and looked at each other to confirm their timing. At nearly the exact same moment Adam and Barbara let out loud snorting noises like Adam had done during the card game.

Beetlejuice almost jumped out of his pants, he floated up with a loud squeal mixed yelp. They only thing keeping him from floating away completely was the fact that Adam and Barbara calmed down one hand each on his shoulder, which only added to his startled state.

The teens laughed and so did the Maitlands. It took an extra minute, but Beetlejuice couldn’t resist not joining in. “That was just evil” Beetlejuice whined, still a little agitated from the scare.

Barbara elbowed her husband, “Guess we did have some ‘evil’ deep down inside” she laughed out. Adam responded with increased giggles and a few natural snorts derived from laughter rather than an attempt to get Beetlejuice to piss himself.

* * *

Everyone piled up in the living room, no food allowed upstairs, which Shauna and Dani were unaware of but what Charles and Delia didn’t know didn’t hurt them. They watched movies, even fought over the remote a few times, cringed over the wet crunching noises from the Beatles on Beetlejuice's pizza. Plenty of fun.

Once everyone's bellies were full Lydia decided it was time for the next game, a game she hadn’t played in years. It was time for a pillow fight, they living room had the most pillows as well as the most throwable pillows in the entire house, so it was perfect, she just had to trigger game. 

Or rather, trigger someone to help her start the game, what she wasn’t expecting was her two friends to take his side and a entire war to break loose.

“Hey Beetlejuice.” Lydia said, getting the demon who was lazily sitting next to her on the couch attention. Before he could even fully turn his head to look at her or ask ‘wat’ in his classic Beetlejuice way, he was struck in the head with a decorative pillow. 

“Pillow Fight!” Lydia screamed, taking inspiration from all the teen movies she had seen. Best part was Beetlejuice binged watched most of those movies with her, so he was game. 

Beetlejuice regained his composure and the fight was on. He grabbed the nearest pillow and chunked it and Lydia who leapt onto the loveseat and onto both Maitlands. Barbara took the head shot of the pillow, now the fight was really on. 

Adam and Barbara gathered their ammo as Lydia jumped the back of the loveseat to sneak around to get her own ammunition or a jump on her opponents. Beetlejuice was smarter then he looked, he saw what Lydia had done and what she was currently doing. 

“You twerps are on my team!” Beetlejuice shouted, he began to float and so did surrounding pillow. Those same pillows finding their way into both Shauna’s and Dani’s ready hands. Beetlejuice chunked pillows towards the Maitlands while the other two did the same.

Shauna and Dani were both struck by attacks from behind, in the commotion and picking sides they had forgotten about Lydia. The two shouted and laughed. Lydia poked her head from behind the chair she was using as a shield.

“Beej!” Shauna shouted.

“Help us out here!” Dani added.

Beetlejuice glanced at them, he was now floating in mid air with pillows floating around them, a green glow surrounded each decorative pillow. He saw what they meant, if Lydia was going to play dirty, so was he. 

Beetlejuice raised his arm in the direction of his two teammates and a green glow surrounded them, they laughed as they suddenly felt weightless and began to float. 

“This is.” Dani paused “SO COOL!” 

“HELL YES!” Was all Shauna could spit out as she grabbed the pillow floating beside her and chunked it as hard as she could at Lydia. 

“Thats cheating!!’ Lydia shouted as she climbed over the chair and stood in the seat of it. “Adam! Barbara” she shouted. They understood she wanted one of them to float her, issue was they were not very good at it yet. It would take full concentration. 

Barbara floated Lydia and she took on her two teenage guests while Adam continued to fight off BJ. The Maitlands combined efforts cornered the three floating opponents in the center of the room.

“Shit!” Dani said as all three of their back bumped together. “This isn’t going to end well”

“Hey BJ, got any tricks up your sleeve?” Shauna asked looking over her shoulder giving Beetlejuice a smirk in which he returned.

“Always, Kiddo!” He raised both his arms and a bright light shined above them. It almost looked like a portal opened up, all sorts of decorative pillows, bed pillows, and the like fell from above them. The avalanche of cushioned debris buried the Maitlands and broke Barbara’s concentration leaving Lydia to fall in a pile of pillows unharmed. 

“Heck yeah!” Dani shouted

“Can't beat us!” Shauna hooted 

“Can't lose when your team mates a demon” Beetlejuice gave a raspy chuckle and they all gave a group high five, still floating in mid air. They had become completely obvious in the early celebration. The gave team Maitland plenty of time to come up with a plan. 

The plan was simple, take out the two minor threats long enough for the Maitlands to tag team Beetlejuice, once he was out for the count they would win. Easy enough right? The first plan they had came up with was to just go for it, but Lydia had a **very evil** idea on how the Maitlands could put Beetlejuice out of commission. 

Lydia leapt up grabbing the two floating teams that rested right above her natural hight, she had a hand around one of each teens ankles, the sudden weight pulling them down caught them off guard. The two teens were yanked out of the air and onto the pillow covered floor and held down by Lydia.

They shouted in protest and the sudden shift in energy it took to keep the girls afloat caught Beetlejuice's attention. It was easy to float them normally, resistance was a different story. He began to make his way to assist his teammates but he jumped as something or rather someone latched onto his back.

Barbara had took advantage of the distraction and grabbed Beetlejuice, putting him in a headlock, or the best she could as she was not very good at floating herself and was rather just pulling down on him with her arms laced around his neck. 

His weight wobbled and he was jerked back at the sudden additional weight of Barbara on his back. “Jeez Babs, didn’t know you liked it rough.” He breathed out reaching up to her arms to remove them, however, was met by a larger hand then the small feminine ones from behind.

It was Adam, he grabbed Beetlejuice by his raised forearm and yanked him down. “Do it!” Barbara laughed from behind, Lydia's plan going into motion. 

“Hey!” beetlejuice cried as Adam pulled him forwards more “Do what? Wait!” Another “Hey!” escaped him in protest as Barbara tightened her hold jerking him back while Adam still pulled him forwards. In other words Beetlejuice was currently a VERY confused demon. 

“Revenge for when we first met!” Seethed out of Adams mouth, Beetlejuice was almost scared at this point, he didn’t know what to expect. Adam grabbed the sides of Beetlejuice’s faces and streaks of pink already poked through his hair as Adam got so close in Beetlejuice’s face he could smell his breath.

Adam forced his lips onto Beetlejuice's in the same way Beetlejuice had done to Adam when the first met. The violent kiss soon ended as Beetlejuice dropped to the floor unable to focus at all when it came to floating. It had all been a part of Lydia’s plan to take Beetlejuice out of the picture and it worked.

Barbara had attempted to catch him but at the angle she was at she did all she could to keep herself from cluttering the floor under the demon’s weight. She landed on her knees and sat beside the demon’s head, laughing.

“I can’t believe that actually worked.” Barbara said, amazed.

There lay the same mischievous Demon that was once the winner of the pillow fight now completely unresponsive. Beetlejuice hair had turned completely pink, more pink than it ever had before. His face and eyes did the same, heck even the tie to his suit had made the transition to the bright color.

Beetlejuice’s eyes remained opened and unfocused, the only noise he was making was mumbled wows and broken laughs. Beetlejuice was out for the count. Lydia ran over giving her ghostly godparents high fives. A conclusion was made that day by everyone, Beetlejuice could dish it out, but couldn't take it.  


“Now that's how you win a pillow fight!” Lydia concluded, the other two teens coming up to check on their newly pink team mate.

“You broke him!” Dani cried

“Thats cheating” Shauna protested

“You cheated first.” Lydia argued.

“Did not” Shauna replied “Did too!” Lydia echoed. It when on a couple times before Adam nudged the demon sprawled out on the floor with his foot. 

“Is he ok?” Adam asked a bit nervously.

“You officially broke Beetlejuice twice in one day, congratulations Adam” Lydia told him snarkily.

Adam helped his wife off the ground and the two giggled and laughed. “Well I guess that really does confirm our suspicions, that or he is just that dramatic.” Barbara laughed, speaking to her husband.

“I guess so” Adam hummed back. “Thanks for the tip Lydia, dear” He help out his fist to his adoptive daughter who gave him a fist bump in response as well as a laughter of good fun.

“Soooo… is he gonna get better or is this like a whole day thing?” Dani asked reaching down and grabbing one of Beetlejuice’s arms and trying to tug him up to no luck, the demon still lay like a love struck idiot incapable of speech. 

“No telling” Lydia laughed. “Well my team won so guess the game is over, what else do you guys want to do?” She asked. “That won't make BJ here too mad that he missed out on” She soon added and gestured at the pink demon.

“When Dani and I do sleep overs we try on fancy clothes or silly clothes just for laughs.” Shauna added to the available knowledge of the room with a shrug. 

“Ooh, yeah that would be fun! Lydia is super goth, wonder what we would look like all emo or gothic” Dani laughed, Lydia only rolled her eyes at her friend.

“Ok, sounds good!” Lydia said. “Yo Momland, Dadland, you want deal with love struck bug over here or???” She leaned back on her heels stick her thumbs in the side belt loops of her jeans as she addressed her adoptive ghost parents.

Adam and Barbara chuckled at her straight forward attitude and looked at each other as they thought of something to do. Barbara’s eyes lit up as she had an idea. She walked over to where the kept a spear blanket and unfolded it, laying it across the love struck demon.

“There.” She said with a high pitch. Everyone laughed. “We will tidy up, you girls go have fun” Her face and tone softened when she said this and her and Adam took to picking up the pillows and knocked over items, being careful not to step on the floor bound demon. 

The three teens quickly made their way up the stairs and to Lydia’s room for a classic game of dress up. Who knew you could have so much fun with just the stereotypical little kid slumber party games, adding a demon and some ghosts might have added that extra kick, but still!

* * *

Shauna practically tore through Lydia’s closet as soon as they made it to her room. They pulled out every gothic attire and aesthetic item of clothing to come up with their own gothic style to match Lydia’s.

Shauna tried on one of Lydia’s solid black dresses that had little decorative patterns on it, made of black sequins as well as a black headband she found. While Dani dug for anything that wasn’t a dress. A long black T-shirt with a skull wearing a flower crown of spiked roses was the closest thing she could find.

Everytime Shauna or Lydia offered Dani a dress or low cut top with a skirt Dani became less and less excited about this game. Dani was not a fan of her body, she knew she was supposed to love it, it existed for her, but looking at it and others looking at it, just made her chest go tight. 

Dani had done a lot of thinking behind this and knew why she was like this, but it wasn’t an easy thing to accept let alone tell others about. Dani took a deep breath, shuddering a bit after getting lost in thought.

“We can take a break if you want to.” Shauna suggested, tone and facial expression soft towards her best friend. 

“No, no. I am fine, just got a little overwhelmed” Dani responded, still holding herself in a self hug.

“You don’t have to do anything your uncomfortable with.” Lydia stated. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked looking more concerned. Dani’s breathing pitched a bit and she was not having this conversation right now, it was hard enough having it with herself let alone two people she was dependent on as friends. If she didn’t have their support, then well, Dani didn’t want to think about that.

“No I am good lets just continue.” Dani said with a weak smile.

Shauna and Lydia sort of shifted awkwardly before they tried to change the topic to spare their friend. “Want to go wake BJ?” Lydia asked and a spark appears in everyones eyes. Even the mention of Beetlejuice lightened the mood.

Dani and Shauna had grown very close to Beetlejuice in an odd way, they hadn’t known him long but he just radiated fun uncle energy. Dani really appreciated how Beetlejuice gave everyone little nicknames. He had referred to her as bud or by the name Dani rather than Danielle, even if he didn’t know it many people had made the connection and began calling her that in the past.

Before another word could be uttered, almost on cue Beetlejuice had floated and phased through the floor to Lydia’s room. The pink mostly gone from his attire and green returned but a mixture of red and purple was mixed in as well. Well, that's new.

“YOU!” Beetlejuice seethed. “You told them!” He appeared right in front of Lydia, a ghost wind appearing as his movements were apparently fast enough to create it. He was in Lydia’s face and he looked pissed.

“I didn’t tell them anything” Lydia placed a hand on his chest and shoved him out of her face. “About your crush at least, they already knew that one.” An evil smirk came across her face.

“Nooo” Beetlejuice wined, all anger gone and he seemed to melt to the floor. He covered his eyes and forehead with his hands. His pointed ears tipped down. “That obvious?” He moved a finger out from in front of his eyes as if to peak out from behind them.

“Yeah” the three teens said in unison. They watched Beetlejuice cover his eyes again continuing until he moved his hands completely and looked at them confused.

“Shit, the goths multiplied?” Beetlejuice suddenly realized. The teens looked at each other and then back to Beetlejuice before bursting out into their own laughter. Beetlejuice soon realized what he said and it was deafnty better to focus on that then his embarrassment concerning the Maitlands, he laughed as well. 

After a minute they all calmed down and began to feel Beetlejuice in on their dress up game, Beetlejuice looked unimpressed.

“Seriously? I can do way better than those.” Beetlejuice said rudely

“Uh huh. Well amaze us bug boy.” Shauna challenged sarcastically, placing a hand on his hip and blowing his hangs out of her eyes. 

“With pleasure” Beetlejuice said evilly and with a snap of his fingers the three teens were dressed in smaller versions of Beetlejuice’s classic striped suit. 

“What the hell BJ!” Shauna shouted, doing her best to get the striped jacket off. Lydia just laughed, this she expected from Beetlejuice.

Dani grabbed the ends of the jacket and twirled a bit taking a good look at the suit. “Too many stripes, but not too bad” she laughed. She liked it a lot more the she would admit. 

“See now you got style!” Beetlejuice said making the OK sign with his hands and a **very** smug look on his face. Eyerolls were the majority of the responses he got.

“Boy you ain’t got any style, try again. Think…” Shauna stopped, placing a finger on her chin and she tapped her foot. “Ever seen a prom? Oh or a wedding?” Her smile became huge. 

“A couple why?” Beetlejuice shrugged floating back on his heels as he shoved his hands in his coat pockets. His eyes lit up. “Speaking of weddings-” Beetlejuice was cut off by Lydia, but the red tux already appeared on Beetlejuice. Shauna would have described its design as ‘way to extra’.

“No, just no. Abort mission BJ, I will kill you a second time!” She lectured, the demon threw his hands up in a mock surrender as Lydia paced towards him with a threatening finger. 

“Ok Ok, back to normal” He snapped and his suit returned back to its classic stripes. He looked around the room awkwardly until he heard a less than obvious noise of someone clear their throat. 

“Back on topic bug boy.” Shauna snapped, Dani and Lydia laughed at her sass.

“Right right, you said prom?” He chucked. A curtain appeared and two semi transparent women came out from behind and herded Shauna behind the curtain. Shouting and things getting thrown could be heard.

The two transparent women walked back out and pulled the two parts of the curtain back to reveal Shauna in a gorgeous purplish pink princess dress. Her hair had been done up into a high bun, all pinned to look like a flower as a golden crown completed her hair and held it all together. He bangs remaining as they normally do.

The dress sparkled and flowed in invisible wind. The two women looked very pleased with themselves and Lydia and Dani were blown away. 

“OHMYGOODNESS!” Shauna screeched. She leapt from the floor and basically tackled the floating Beetlejuice. He groaned as he hit the floor.

“Take it that you like it” Beetlejuice said in a strained voice. He got up and Shauna basically jumped instead of standing still. “Who’s next.” He rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the floor.

“Oh do Lydia!” Shauna shouted and ran over and began pushing Lydia alongside the two women behind the curtain. 

“Dont ruin my aesthetic Beetlejuice!” Lydia shouted, turning her head and giving Beetlejuice a stern look over her shoulder.

“Got it babes.” Beetlejuice cackled and the same racket repeated itself behind the curtain where the two woman gave Lydia a makeover to show off to her audience of friends. 

The woman returned and began to move the curtain back but Lydia basically sprinted out from behind them to run up to her long mirror and see what the demon had done. She was actually impressed. 

She wore a black jumpsuit that had a ribbon around her stomach that matched the one holding her hair up in a very unique hairdo. A skirt blossomed from the waist and had a transparent layer of red fabric that glittered under the light of the room. 

Beetlejuice must have messed with the lighting, there was no way this outfit glittered as much as it did under her normal old yellow light bulbs. The shawl is what she really loved. It was read and semi transparent with a spider web design. If anything she **had** to have her own for normal outfits. 

Dani was up next and she shifted uneasily, she prayed that Beetlejuice wouldn’t put her in a dress or anything pink or or. Beetlejuice noticed Dani’s sudden increased breathing and spaced out look. 

“Hey kid, your turn.” Beetlejuice hummed, however he watched Dani turn and her expression change into on of a deer in headlights. “Don’t worry bud, trust me, you’ll like this one” Beetlejuice floated towards Dani and gave her a wink.

Dani took a deep breath which caused her to shudder a bit more than she wanted to when she breathed out. She allowed the two women to lead her behind the curtain and the same noises echoed. 

When the woman removed the curtains there stood Dani with her eyes closed as tight as her facial muscles could squish them together. Shoulders high and fists balled at her sides as she held her breath, expecting the worse.

“Oh my gosh!” Shauna cried.

“Dani get a look at yourself!” Lydia shouted, a little more excited than anyone was expecting. 

Dani opened one eye, then the other and made her way to the long mirror. There she stood in a beautiful turquoise tux. It had a longer tail than most and a semi transparent fabric extended from it almost like a cape. It was beautiful.

The hair was Dani’s favorite part, she had cut it short yes, but having it styled back, clipped and everything. Oh goodness she was in love.

Dani almost cried, this was her. This was what she felt on the inside, this fit, this was right. Dani screamed and Beetlejuice cringed thinking he had done something wrong. Dani turned around tears in eyes.

“Shit” Beetlejuice mumbled, “sorry kid, I thought I had it right.. I” He stumbled and looked back avoiding eye contact, but that wasn’t going to last long. Dani ran full force into Beetlejuice stomach, hugging him tightly.

“Its perfect” Dani said squeezing her eyes shut again. Beetlejuice patted Dani on the back a bit awkwardly but gave a chuckle. Dani eventually let go and returned to her friends who gushed over each and everyone of their outfits.

* * *

Beetlejuice let out a sigh of relief, he had been afraid he had messed up on the last one. Sure he knew Lydia taste very well, but he had to basically let his magic run loose in order to determine what the other two wanted. The basically made their own outfits without realizing it.

However, Beetlejuice had to really dig for which one Dani wanted, or more accurately put more energy into maintaining it. Everytime Dani seemed to want a more masculine outfit it quickly switched to a feminine one but it was surrounded by heavy negative emotions. It honestly wore Beetlejuice out, but looks like he actually did good this go around so he was proud.

Beetlejuice had fallen in love with these kids, he wanted to steal them away and spoil them, but dear lord! That sound like something Barbara or Adam would do. That sounded nothing him. Beetlejuice internally scowled at himself. Going soft is fine, just don’t melt for them, BJ. Get your act together, he thought to himself. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden silence. He zoned back in and looked at the three fancy dressed teens who all had an evil look. 

“What?” He asked, confused.

“It's your turn, bug boy” Shauna said as she grabbed Beetlejuice by the arm and yanked him towards the two women who dragged him behind the curtain. 

“Hey no wait!” Beetlejuice protested and the normal sounds that echoed from behind the curtain were mostly replaced by the displeased yelps and yells of a certain demon.

Then the moment of truth came! The two women opened the curtain but soon had to once again drug Beetlejuice out from hiding. He stood there pouting and fiddling his foot awkwardly. 

The three teens mouths gaped open, Beetlejuice actually looked cleaned up. His hair had been brushed back, although it did keep a good portion of its wild nature. He wore a clean top with partially long sleeves. Dark jeans held up by black and white striped suspenders that were buckled onto the jeans with metallic green decorative beetles.

One of the women attempted to put a fedora on his head but he swatted it away and soon just decided to frantically wave his arms everywhere and the two women and the curtain were dismissed, vanished as if they were just a hologram.

“You look adorable Beej!” Lydia called to him.

“Yes, so handsome.” Shauna run up to him and laced her arm around his.

“Ahh look at the suspenders!” Dani gushed. 

“We should get Barbara and Adam” Lydia plotted. The teens watched as the demon’s eye lit up in horror. 

Beetlejuice’s original teammates turned their back on him and kept him from escaping while Lydia practically flew out of her room and towards the attic in the hopes of finding her ghostly godparents.

A few moments later the Maitlands made their appearance and Barbara was in the middle of complimenting Lydia’s outfit, while Adam was still confused at why they were in such a rush. 

“Lydia, dear, where the fire?” Adam asked confused but attempted to laugh it off. When Adam and Barbara finally noticed what they were meant to see their hearts skipped a beat.

Beetle juice wouldn’t meet their eyes at the longest time only striating at their feet. Once he finally mustered the balls to look his crushes in the face he noticed they had adapted the same starry eyes as the teens had when they first saw his outfit. Worse part, well best part actually was the Maitlands faces were coated with a thin layer of blush, which half way short circuited Beetlejuice where he stood. 

Damn they were cute. Beetlejuice had completely forgotten about the outfit at this point but found his mouth dry and couldn’t figure out anything to say. 

“Oh wow, how did you manage this?” Barbara practically spun looking at the prom attire of their two teenage guests. 

“Beetlejuice!” The three teams almost sung, they had every intention to put the spotlight on Beetlejuice and put him in the good light of his crushes. 

Beetlejuice lifted his hand shyly to take credit for his work giving an awkward chuckle. 

“That’s incredible!” Adam admires Shauna’s hair and the detail put in it to make it look like a flower from behind. Adam and Barbara knee Beetlejuice had used his magic but still, it was amazing.

Adam and Barbara has begun making things with their own ghostly powers and noticed the detail was completely up the amount of energy they put into it as well as them actively thinking about it. Beetlejuice had done all this? That would mean he had to have thought of every single detail to create these incredible outfits, most being mash ups.

Shauna’s dress of course resembled that of a prom dress, specifically a princess dress, but there was a unique pattern sawn into the top and her hair was an entirely different story, neither Adam or Barbara could ever imagine recreating that.

Then there was Dani’s it was obvious it was unique to Dani style, a style no one could really pick up on because of her baggy clothes and messy short hair. Now with her hair styled back and clipped to look like something you might see on the main protagonist of a spy movie.

The suit was incredible, and Adam gushed over it himself. He adored the feminine lace that made up the tail, Adam wouldn’t mind wearing something similar himself. 

Barbara adored Lydia’s outfit, it absolutely fit her to a T and the Maitlands were not surprised, they knew Beetlejuice and Lydia were very close friends so it only made since he would be able to make something so personalized for her. 

They quickly ran out distractions and their attention fell onto Beetlejuice who had followed their attention on the teens and slowly regained his confidence. 

“Not to shabby huh?” Beetlejuice said more than asked after they were through admiring the teens outfits. Barbara however, approached Beetlejuice and pinched the collar of his shirt, feeling the frantic between her fingers.

Adam grabbed one of the suspenders and traced it down to the metallic green beetle at its based. “No, not bad at all” Barbara finally replied, getting a little too close for comfort. 

Beetlejuice tried not to freeze up like before but it was clear he was nervous. “Woah, look at the detail on the decorative Beetles.” Adam praises.

Beetlejuice backed away, shaking them off a bit. “Just a little magic, not that huge of a deal, not like I handcrafted em or anything” Beetlejuice paused “you guys are the pros at that stuff, the real talents haha” He laughed scratching at his facial hair, all nervous.

Here the Maitlands were complimenting his work when they were the real deals, Beetlejuice really did admire how hard they had been working on the replica of the town and all the other models they had begun making in their spare time. 

Adam and Barbara were a bit taken aback by the compliment, but their expressions soon softened. The Maitland’s train of thought ran together as they concluded that this was officially the most adorable thing ever. 

“Aww, that’s sweet of you Beej” Adam replies. 

Without thinking Adam and Barbara walked closer to Beetlejuice and ran their fingers through his hair. It became a bit of a tangled mess because they were not expecting to have done the same thing at the same time. 

It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, Beetlejuice’s hair had actually been brushed through and it showed, which is what lead to the predicament they were in. They both laughed and Beetlejuice attempted to duck his head out of reach but stopped. 

“Like the hair”-“Nice hair” Adam and Barbara words collided similarly to how their intentions in running their hands through the demon’s hair did. Everyone in the room laughed. 

They slowly pulled their hands out of his hair and attempted to fix it back to its updo, they laughed and Beetlejuice just leaned into their touch as much as he could without being obvious. 

“Well I guess we just ruined the moment” Adam laughed as he put a hand on his wife’s shoulder who continued his nervous laughter. 

When their touch disappeared Beetlejuice seemed to snap out of his comatose state or drunken state and he looked at them in confusing to their sudden nervous behavior. Lydia picked up on the awkward silent and proposed an idea!

“I was thinking we could sleep on the roof tonight, is that ok?” Lydia asked, her friend’s eyes lighting up and the two mature adults eyes lit up with concern.

“Are you sure that is the safest idea dear?” Barbara asked.  
“You could fall.” Adam added.

“I have done it before, I didn’t fall then” Lydia explained.

“That doesn’t make it any less dangerous,” Adam began to say before Barbara butted in. “Why would you sleep on the roof” Barbara halfway yelped in concern, Lydia only shrugged.

A raspy voice would be the answer to everyone's wants and concerned, “We could just go out there with em, keep an eye on em, plus I could always float em up if need be” He hummed, Lydia’s eyes pleaded a silent thank you to her best friend.

“I suppose that is ok.” Adam looked at his wife for reassurance.

“Yes, ok, but PJ’s first I don’t want anyone tripping in these beautiful outfits” Barbara replied. The teens all looked at BJ who only rolled his eyes and gave a snarky response.

“Yeah yeah, I see all y’alls eyes on me” Beetlejuice replied and snapped his fingers and everyone were in their PJ’s accept for the demon and the two ghosts in the room. Beetlejuice just undid the suspenders from his shoulders and let them hang at his sides.

"Good to know I am a bunch of teenager's personal demon, at their beck and call." Beetlejuice grumbled annoyed, everyone laughed at the irony of it all, he was being sarcastic, but it was basically the truth. 

He didn’t really want to change, since apparently the Maitlands liked it so much. He could be a little dress up a little longer, even though it wasn’t his thing.

* * *

Barbara and Adam went to gather quilts and blankets and the girls gathered pillows and snacks and everyone made it to the roof through the window in the attic. Lydia had also thought to grabher telescope and ask Beetlejuice to grab a small book of constellations and stars off her nightstand.

Beetlejuice sat next to Lydia as per normal, but as the Maitlands made there way over to her she scooted over to make room for one of them to sit between her and Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice had suspected that each Maitland would pick a side around Lydia, but he was only half right.

Adam sat between Beetlejuice and Lydia while Barbara sat on the other side of Beetlejuice. To say he was surprised was an understatement. “Wouldn’t you rather sit with Lyds” He finally asked, gesturing to the goth girl looking through a telescope trying to pinpoint a star her two friends had picked out from the book.

“Hmm?” Barbara hummed. It took her a minute to replay what he had said in her mind. “We are all on the same roof aren't we?” She asked, then paused. “Oh are you afraid we are going to bite” she laughed.

“Shh Barbara, he would be into that.” Adam piped in leaning onto Beetlejuice a bit.

Beetlejuice let out a loud laugh. “I was just curious, and” he looked directly at Adam “yes, Adam just yes” He snorted at the hug eyeroll he received in response. 

“We are just as fond as you as we are of the others, why wouldn’t we sit with you?” Barbara finally gave a serious response. Beetlejuice blushed a bit, pink making its way into his hair but unable to be seen under the night sky. 

“I find that hard to believe.” Beetlejuice replied sarcastically.

“Maybe not at first.” Adam shrugged “But you have really made an impression on everyone, you have calmed down a bit, part of the family” He concluded. Beetlejuice’s heart skipped a beat at that, in fact it almost vibrated. He kind of felt like crying, but he was happy?

“Yeah, you are like a really big crazy family, I just adore every part of it.” Shauna leaned over Lydia who fussed because it blocked her view from the telescope. She made herself part of the conversation.

“I wish I had a family like you all do.” Dani said with genuine kindness. 

“See, even those two can see you fit in with us.” Barbara said as she placed a hand on Beetlejuice shoulder. Beetlejuice couldn’t help but let out a raspy laugh.

“You guys are just so right, between the Deetz and the Maitlands, and Beetlejuice and Lydia’s crazy friendship you are all” Dani tapped her chin while trying to think of what to call them.

“Perfectly strange” Lydia replied, getting everyone's attention, they way she said it was almost poetic as it had a tone of love but also sadness behind it. 

“Yes that!” Dani replied. 

“It is something my mom used to say.” Lydia said looking up from the telescope. “Dead mom, I mean.” She corrected. “And I agree, we are all perfectly strange.” Lydia leaned back to look at her three other family members with loving eyes. The Maitlands awed at their adoptive daughters heartfelt words and the demon… 

“BJ are you crying?” Shauna pointed out.

“No” Beetlejuice said rubbing his eyes and snorting back snot. Everyone laughed a little and both Maitlands pressed their body weight on him a bit for comfort. In that time Dani had changed the position of the telescope to correct the location the Lydia was having trouble finding.

“Hey, Lydia try again, I think I got it.” Dani said, which got Lydia’s immediate attention. There they had found the constellation of Orion and the star their very own demon was named after.

“Hey, BJ there you are.” Lydia hummed. Beetlejuice looked at her confused and waved him over. He stood from his beloved spot between the two Maitland and had a look at 9th brightest star in the sky.

“It's a star.” Beetlejuice said lamely as the two Maitlands took their turns looking at the star.

“That's Betelgeuse!” Adam said happily. 

“Me?” Beetlejuice said confused, “I knew there was a star with my name, but that was it?” He sounded unimpressed.

“It's the 9th brightest star in the sky.” Lydia replied.

“Not that big of a deal.” Beetlejuice pouted and returned to his spot in which the Maitlands soon followed. 

“Yes, but it's also the second brightest star in Orion's belt.” Barbara added as she rested her head on her shoulder and leaned it against Beetlejuice’s arm.

“Huh, neat” Beetlejuice finally admitted a bit amazed. The three paranormal beings and three teens continue to star gaze on the roof until they all found themselves cuddles up and asleep, no worries in the world. Betelgeuse watching over them as they slept.

* * *

#### Beetlejuice Fandom Discord!

https://discord.gg/fZaXsqM

I made a discord server for everyone to talk about their favorite Beetlejuice Media and hang out. You can also post art there! <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discord is both a mobile and desktop app, its free and super easy to use. I am also down to get some of yall as admins, or caseworks as they are called in the server if you want. Look forward to chatting with everyone <3


	11. Babysitting a Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School starts back and Lydia is having a rough set of days, not because of anyone other than great aunt flow herself. No one likes a rough period, Beetlejuice is just as annoying just in a surprising way, he turns into a giant worrywort over Lydia's condition and Lydia has to get her friends to get Beetlejuice out of her hair for a few hours at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some timelapsing takes place to speed the story up past boring details, and this chapter isn't as long but it is my attempt at getting a head in writing so I can give you guys a more frequent upload schedule.

After the sleepover Dani and Shauna returned home the following day and spent their Sunday doing whatever homework they skipped out on during their fun adventure with Lydia and her crazy family.

The friendship between the three teens seems to have grown since the experience, once they all returned to school that monday nothing in the world could bother them. Rumors that Claire’s friends had spread, heck even Claire’s presence wasn’t so bad.

They had each other at least, that's all they needed. It was fun too now that they could all see and hear Beetlejuice’s shenanigans, made the day more bearable. Beetlejuice still clung mostly to Lydia, which was probably for the best, no telling what he would do if he ran into Claire. 

The school had made sure that Lydia’s and Claire’s interactions were as limited as possible, even having Claire’s lunch period moved, but Claire did end up getting the earlier lunch period so she sort of won that one.

But over all the day was going pretty go for a Monday, Lydia thought. Maybe she spoke a little too soon, or well thought it too soon. She had an uneasy feeling in her stomach she had been ignoring since lunch. It wasn’t really bad, just annoying.

The feeling got worse and she finally figured out the were menstrual cramps. “Great..” She mumbled to herself. She asked to be excused from class and confirmed her suspicions. Her period was a little early, but honestly periods were hell, who ever actually has a regular one?

She just took some PMS meds she had stashed in her bag once she made it back to class, Beetlejuice’s normal background noise seemed to quiet down and almost stop completely. She wondered if he had picked up on the fact that she wasn’t feeling very well, she internally smiled, he always did have this weird sixth sense when it came to certain things, usually he used it to his advantage to annoy people more but she figured he respected her enough to not test a gal on her period.

The school day was almost over, she could go lay down and rest. She didn’t have anything planned after all. She wondered if Adam and Barbara would mind entertaining BJ for the afternoon. She laughed at the thought.

Beetlejuice didn’t touch the topic until their way home, she was riding her back as usual but the fatigue caught up to her with it being the end of the school day and her period. 

“Hey Lyds ya ok?” He asked, an uncharacteristic concerned look on his face.

“Yeah, Aunt flow is just for a visit.” She laughed, but still looked tired.

“Ya I figured that much, I know what a period is kid, no need for the nicknames.” He paused and looked in front of himself trying to judge the distance between their location and home. “Want me to just fly us home or teleport?” He finally asked.

Lydia was taken aback a bit, why was he so concerned? It was just a period no big deal, yeah the cramps seemed to suck a little more than usual. “Stop being a worrywort, exercise is supposed to help with cramps anyway” She gave him a half smile.

“Whatever you say, scarecrow.” Beetlejuice shrugged and continued to flat next to her as they made their way home.

* * *

The afternoon wasn’t too bad, she had access to a heating pad, movies, and some chocolate that seemed to make everything better. When it came to Beetlejuice, he was basically glued to her hip, she couldn’t understand why seemed so worried or clingy.

They piled up on her bed and were watching some old movies on her TV across the room, not wanting the heating pad or bed covers to overheat her laptop if they set it on the bed. 

“You have been a lot more chill today.” Lydia pointed out, getting the demon’s full attention. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just shrugged. “Your not acting like your usual self, what’s wrong?” She turned her body towards him, getting pissed and getting to the point.

“Nothin” He gave a raspy hum in the response. Lydia didn’t look convinced and Beetlejuice quickly picked up on it. “It’s nothin, I swear.” He grumbled

“Mmhmm” Lydia hummed sarcastically. “Spill your guts demon” she pointed at him. Silence took residence in that moment, Beetlejuice didn’t act like he was going to say anything for a while.

“Just old, kid.” He said, no amusement in his voice, blank and to the point.

“What?” Lydia was very confused now.

“Just seen a lot of breathers die” He said in the same tone.

“Yeah that's a given, ‘Mr. Bio-exorcist’ “ Lydia laughed trying to lighten whatever mood BJ was in.

“Nah Lyds, its like things that don’t kill you breathers now used to, it's not so bad these days, but back then it was rough.” He said, he rested his chin on his hand looked across the room at nothing in particular.

Lydia sat there and tried to absorb the information she had just gotten her and Beeltejuice have had serious talks before, but Beetlejuice never really said too much about his past, just the ‘good old days’. 

It took her a minute but if he was actually upset about a breather, sorry human, dying then he had to have a connection to at least one of them like he does now with her. The information finally clicked in her fatigued mind.

“Back then? You mean before you were banished?” She asked, his eyes seemed to light up a little. His mood didn’t really improve, however.

“Yeh” He said, his expression finally softened a bit. “Just a plain ol’ demon, could visit earth and mess with people all I wanted back then.” He gave a sad laugh.

Lydia finally understood, she had never really made this connection before but in the past Beetlejuice had mentioned he ‘lived’ through the plague, she didn’t know when he was banished and cursed but she figured it must have been after or around that time.

She guessed that here not feeling well must have reminded him of back then, she didn’t blame him she learned about how poor medical practice was in the past, heck letting bleed the illness out was a thing.

“I'm sorry.” Lydia said, leaning her head on his arm. He gave her a puzzled look, but embraced her in a hug, moving his arm behind her head so she would be more comfortable.

“Not your fault scarecrow, I screwed myself over.” He chuckled “Plus now I get you to annoy, not invisible anymore” he gave her a smile. There is was, invisible, Lydia knew that seemed to have a role in why Beetlejuice did the things he did. 

“Yeah, but still.” She laughed but tried to make her tone a bit more serious, “You don’t deserve to be invisible, no one does” Lydia said, speaking from experience. Beetlejuice looked at her amazed, seriously why was she so nice to him, he did deserve it, he just hated it. He took a deep breath.

“Welp” He said, successfully pulling them both out that sad atmosphere, “Good thing we got each other huh?” He cackled. 

“Yeah” Lydia laughed back. They continued to watch their favorite old movies and keep each other company. Laughter really is the best medicine.

* * *

Soon enough the afternoon was gone and it was time for bed. Delia had come to check on Lydia and see if she was feeling better. Lydia was doing ok it seemed, just a little nauseated, which to be expected when your ovaries were trying to torment you.

Beetlejuice made his exist so that Lydia could get some sleep, he wouldn’t be too far out of earshot, just in case. He plopped down onto the living room couch, it had been where he was staying most of the time, he liked being around the Maitlands but figured he wouldn’t push his luck to often by sleeping on the couch in the attic.

Plus he was doing ok energywise, hadn’t used any of his magic too much outside of the Maitland’s haunting parameters he was mooching off of so he was set to be up for a couple of days if he really wanted. 

The hours passed quickly and Beetlejuice was enjoying the weird shows that came on television after hours, and if ever got bored they always played reruns. His attention didn’t break from the screen until he heard footsteps on the upstairs walkway.

He lowered the volume of the TV and glanced at the time, it was roughly 3 ish in the morning, who could be up? He turned his head to see the Maitlands with a confused look on their faces, Barbara was looking towards Lydia’s door and Adam had noticed Beetlejuice’s attention.

“Did you hear something?” Adam asked in a whisper yell down to the couch potato of a demon. Beetlejuice shook his head ‘no’. Their answer was soon answered however, they heard what sounded like gagging noises from Lydia’s room.

Beetlejuice immediately floated up to where the Maitlands where as they opened her door. Lydia wasn’t in her bed. Beetlejuice and the Maitlands looked at each other a little panicked until the sound repeated itself and they noticed the bathroom light under the door. 

“Dear is that you? Are you alright?” Barbara gave a soft knock on the door, while slowly turning the knob. When they heard more dry heaving they opened it rather than asking politely again.

Lydia sat in her pj’s hair pulled back poorly and messily, hand on the rim of the toilet. She shook and dry heaved. Nothing came up, mostly because she had skipped dinner, only eating a snack Delia basically forced down her. 

“Mm fine” Lydia finally answered wiping spit from her mouth, groaning.

“Kid no your not.” Beetlejuice said as he phased through the two ghosts blocking his path and floated behind Lydia and took the hair tie out of her tangled short hair and put it up a bit more neatly, it didn’t look good but it kept her hair out her face a lot more effectively.

“Thanks Beej” Lydia said and her body convulsed a bit and she swallowed hard. “I hate this” she groaned. Barbara grabbed a rag from the droor and wet it with cold water and wiped Lydia face.

“Dear, your very pale, I am worried you have picked something up.” Barbara placed a hand on Lydia’s face. 

“It’s just my period, it gets really bad sometimes, wouldn’t be the first time it's made me puke” Lydia explained despite the fact she had only been dry heaving and her breathing was still rough.

Adam seemed to be the most worried aside from BJ, he hated that there wasn’t anything he could do to instantly make Lydia better. “Is there anything I can get, medicine, something to drink?” He finally chimed in.

“Can I just get something to help me sleep and for my throat?” Lydia asked, voice raspy.

“Get something to drink too.” Barbara told her husband he nodded.

“Warm, please” Lydia added, rubbing her sore throat. Dry heaving was probably the worst. Barbara had begun rubbing circles onto Lydia’s back.

“Want to get back in bed? You think your done?” Barbara asked, Lydia had calmed down quite a bit no more heaving or coughing. 

“Yeh” Lydia replied tiredly, rubbing one of her eyes next as to almost express her exhaustion as most little kids did, despite being a teen. Barbara began to help Lydia up and decided she wanted to try and carry her to bed and Lydia was going to let her, but Beetlejuice soon butt in.

“Let me help” Beetlejuice said, Barbara looked at him a bit surprised but she knew he was worried and gave him a soft smile, stepping back to let him pick Lydia up and carry her to her bed. 

Lydia didn’t care who carried her, she just wanted to get back in bed, she was happy with the choice however, Beetlejuice radiated heat rather than the ghostly cold the Maitlands did. She would never say anything in fear she might upset them, but being as small as she was, she didn’t have a huge amount of her own body heat.

Adam made his way up and the three paranormal family members were able to get Lydia situated and ready for bed again. The next issue however was keeping an eye on Lydia, they proposed taking turns checking on her, but were still worried.

“I am fine, go to bed you three” Lydia whined. Beetlejuice gave her a soft look that expressed worry. He just had things wrong feeling in his gut like something bad was going to happen, he wouldn’t forgive himself if he left and his gut was right.

“I still think someone should stay in here.” Beetlejuice finally spit out, no point in hiding his worry, the two Maitlands were just as worried as he was. They agreed with Lydia, or well Barbara did that it was probably just her period being extra rough, the two men left it up to the women to judge how painful a period could or couldn't be.

“Stop worrying Beej, you have bellered like a cat all afternoon,” Lydia waved him off, poking fun to try and get them off her back and let her go back to sleep. It wasn’t a big deal it was just her period. 

“Cat huh?” Beetlejuice asked, snickering a bit. “Not a bad idea.” And before anyone could say something Beetlejuice disappeared in a puff of smoke and where he stood was a tom cat. It was a long haired striped cat, it looked as if it could have been black and white but brown was mixed in making it look dirty. 

The cat leapt up onto the foot of the bed and curled up. Big green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light stared up at the Maitlands. “Problem solved.” A raspy voice came out of the cats mouth, it was weird seeing an animal speak like a human.

Barbara and Adam laughed, each petting the cat, Barbara scratching his face and Adam petting the cats back. Both seemed to forget the cat was actually Beetlejuice, more excited they now had a pet. Lydia noticed this and laughed.

“See, Beetlejuice can sleep at the foot of the bed as a cat, now can I please get some sleep?” Lydia whined a bit, but tried to play it off as a joke. Adam and Barbara snapped back to reality and gave Lydia and Beetlejuice soft smiles.

“Ok, we are still going to check on you though, we will make sure to be quiet.” Adam said as he walked over and kissed Lydia’s forehead. Barbara did the same, “Good night, dear.” They both echoed as they returned to the attic.

* * *

The following morning Lydia had been feeling worse, her stomach felt like some took a rusty knife and went ham on her insides. The Maitlands had filled Delia and Charles and they decided it would be best for Lydia to stay home.

Beetlejucie seemed pleased by this and didn’t leave her side when she was awake they talked and he stayed nearby when she slept, he remained in his cat form the entire time. Lydia seemed to enjoy playing with his long fluffy tail, and as long as he was there he knew she was ok.

That feeling that something wasn’t completely right still sat with Beetlejuice no matter how hard he tried to shake it. It got to the point where Lydia was getting a little annoyed with his antics. 

Luckily for Lydia her two friends had been messaging her the entire day since she wasn’t at school, both worried that Claire had tried something. Once they found out it was just a bad period they that stopped by as soon as they could after school.

Dani brought some dark chocolate and Shauna brought some dvd’s of some old movies she had been meaning to get to Lydia so she could watch. With those two things, she would be set to have an easy day to recover from a bad period.

Dani and Shauna where both hadn’t had their periods that long either, so they new how rough it was the first couple of years, since they were living it too. 

“When did you get a cat?” Shauna finally asked. “Oh! Don’t tell me that-” She was cut off by a raspy voice escaping the cats mouth.

“Curls!” Beetlejuice greeted, making a bit of a purring noise to fit his feline appearance. He looked over to Dani “Bud” Beetlejucie gave a toothy smile which was weird with him looking like a cat, usually animals bearing teeth was meant as a threat, but not in this case.

“Thats neat” Shauna said petting his head. Lydia rolled her eyes as Beetlejuice embraced the attention. Then she had an idea, she was going to get the over clingy cat out of her hair for a little while, she appreciated the worry and his concern but she needed a break from him, he had been smothering her since 3 am that morning,

“Hey, umm, Shauna, Dani, do you care to take Beetlejuice out for a walk.” Lydia plotted on the spot, gesturing to the cat. Beetlejuice glared at her before the same look of worry as earlier came across his feline features.

“Like a dog?” Dani laughed.

“No! I am not a dog, and no I am not leaving” Beetlejucie protested, tail angrily flicking behind him. Lydia picked Beetlejuice up who took heavy to lift at first but then got noticeably light, most likely began floating so that his mass fit that of a cats. Shape shifting was one thing, but he couldn’t get rid of mass, he could only float.

She handed Beetlejuice that cat over to Shauna who help him like a baby, rubbing his furry belly. Beetlejucie pouted. 

“Calm down Beej, Adam, Barbara, and Delia are all home and will take care of me, go hang out with our friends for a little while, let me rest.” Lydia stared at him with puppy dog eyes, it took a few seconds longer than she had expected but he finally gave in.

“Fine.” He reluctantly agreed. The belly rubs might have helped her argument.

“You guys ok with that?” Lydia asked her friends who nodded and gave their farewells and carried the feline outside the house with them. He poked his head over Shauna shoulder to look at Lydia, still pouting, ears flat to his head.

* * *

The three had made their way down the hill the house sat on and kept their attention on the agitated demon disguised as a cat they held in their hands. “So where do you want to go? We got some to kill Mr. kitty” Lydia asked holding Beetlejuice up in front of her face. He didn’t appreciate being treated like an actual cat so he leapt out of her arms and began to trot in front of them.

“Don’t care, just as long as we are nearby.” He said in his iconic rough voice.

Dani had to run a little to catch up the two, Shauna keeping with Beetlejuice pace pretty well. “Lydia’s fine you know, everyone has a less than pleasant period. Lets get your mind off of it BJ.” Dani proposed. Beetlejucie only glanced back and kept pace.

“Something bad is going to happen, I just know it.” he mumbled but luckily the two teens heard it.

“Hold up BJ.” Dani said and the two teens and cat came to a stop. 

“Its sweet that you worry BJ, but you gotta let Lydia get through it on her own.” Shauna supplied, bending down to pet BJ’s head. No one could help it, cats are just too darn cute.

Beetlejucei grumbled response. “No, well won't move until you let yourself relax, Lydia is ok. You trust her parents right? There are four of them, she is in good hands.” Dani said. Beetlejuice took a deep breath.

He knew the two teens were doing their best to cheer him up, he wanted to believe them but that feeling wouldn’t go away. They were probably right, it was nothing she was fine, he was just being worrisome for no reason other than the fact that Lydia was his best friend.

“Yeah, ok, I trust em” He breathed out and the two teens looked pleased. Beetlejuice felt a little more at ease, these two said they knew what was up with Lydia and been through it themselves, he could trust them, they knew more than he did, plus their energy was sympathetic and reassuring so he knew they weren’t lying.

“How about we go to the park?” Shauna purposed, they all agreed and made their way there. But they were not expecting to run into a certain blond when they made their arrival. 

“Well isn’t it freak squad, where's your pet goth?” Claire Brewster made her lone appearance down the sidewalk, she had been on her phone prior to the encounter. Beetlejuce still looking like a cat snarled and Claire’s eyes widened and she looked down at the distressed cat.

“Very funny claire.” Dani rolled her eyes. “Jeez, I dunno Claire, where are your pet clones?” Shauna through back, with venom. Beetlejuice snicked.  
“Forget them, is this your fleabag?” She looked down at the cat with a look of disgust across her features. The two teens eyes widen in surprise alongside their demonic cat, she could see him? He hadn’t been summoned… Then all at once it hit them, She was in the bathroom during the same event that caused Dani and Shauna to be able to see BJ, so it only made sense. 

“Oh umm, no, he is just a stray that was following us.” Dani quickly covered up any suspicion. Claire attitude did a complete one eighty.

“Aw poor, disgusting little creature.” Claire hummed and an acid like tone that they guessed was supposed to sound nurturing. “These freaks were probably going to keep you, weren’t they. You really just need to be put out of your misery.” She glared at the two teens as if they were to blame for this cats condition, what she didn’t realize is that this cat was also a slob of a demon and not an abused street animal. 

An evil glint sparked in Beetlejuice’s green eyes, he began to purr and rub against Claire’s legs just as any normal friendly cat would. Claire cringed at the cat’s affection but soon brought her attention to Dani and Shauna to show a smirk that came across her face.

“Seems even troubled felines know who is more superior.” Claire boasted, trying to shew the cat away without ruining her point. Shauna gave her a go to hell look, she wondered if Claire knew how borderline crazy she sounded.

Before Dani or Shauna could say anything about the cat or Claire they heard the same growling noise as earlier sound off from the cat. Claire looked down horrified as the cat scaled up her leg ad began clawing and hissing at her face. 

She began to scream and shove the cat away but Beetlejuice just latched on with claws. Fabric of Claire outfit was torn and Beetlejuice gave the bitch a toothy green once came to a stop in the struggle, Claire had pushed Beetlejuice away from her, but his claws only pulled on her shirt, arms outstretched unable to do harm at that point in time.

The grin grew, almost as if its jaw had unhinged, the toothy grin opened and a series of black and white snakes poured out of the cats mouth, eyes and ears. Claire screamed and with the increase of adrenaline through the cat into a tree. 

She took off running, trying to shake the snakes crawling all on her off as she attempt to escape the scene she just witnessed. Shauna and Dani stared wide eyed at what just happened, laughter erupting from them.

The watched as Claire ran off, waving at her as if it was just harmless fun. Their attention turned back to Beetlejuice who was back to his normal demony self, groaning and rubbing his head as he rested against the tree he had been thrown into.

“Bitch.” He mumbled, as if didn’t just try to claw her eyes out himself. Shauna and Dani helped Beetlejuice back to his feet and attempted to dust him off out of habit, but soon gave up the dust never seemed to come to an end.

“You ok?” Shauna asked the disheveled demon.

“Yup, took harder hits from worst bitched” He breathed out with a huge grin. Dani and Shauna laughed, deciding to lock arms with the demon. No matter how silly they may look to those who couldn’t see the beloved demon, they very much enjoyed his company.

“We should get out of here, wouldn’t put it past Claire to get a hold of an officer.” Dani chimed in.

“Or animal control.” Shauna laughed and they made their way down the sidewalk.

* * *

They eventually stumbled on a grocery store, nothing real big and over the top, but decided they would hang out there. Dani and Shauna hoped that Beetlejuice could behave on a store, at most they expected him to act like a small child who wanted ice cream or pizza, they were sorely mistaken.

Dani and Shauna were browsing the selection of snacks and candy, mostly the off brand stuff since they only had a few dollars on hand. “Hey Beej do you like gummy worms?” Shauna grabbed a bag and turned to face the demon, but he was nowhere in sight.

“Where did he go?” Shauna basically though the bag of gummy worms back from which they came, Dani began to look up and down the aisle and around the nearest corner.

“Shit.” Dani mumbled “Rogue demon.” She looked back at Shauna with a little bit of a chuckle in her voice. They began their search, trying to not be too loud but still Beej like a person who lost their pet would.

“Lydia is so going to kill us…” Shauna concluded as she and Dani stopped in the middle of one of the frozen food sections.  
“Maybe not..” Dani scratched her chin. “He could have snuck back off the house…?” Dani supplied but got a head shake in response from Shauna, he had calmed down, no reason to ditch them. Then all of a sudden their fear disappears when they heard a familiar raspy voice.

“Yo, twerps” Beetlejuice hummed. The two teens looked up above the frozen food to see Beetlejuice sitting in one of the summer beach chair displays stores seem to always have set up on top of the isles. They laughed, of course this is where he would be, he was basically a child but a child with supernatural super powers.

“There you are, you had us so worried.” Dani said, trying not to laugh when she lectured him. He just rolled his eyes. Shauna and Dani were about to attempt to convince him to come down but then an unknown adult approached the two teens. 

He looked very annoyed and displeased, turns out he was the store manager, “Hello young ladies, I am going to have to ask you to leave.” He said crossing his arms. Beetlejuice just glared at the stranger, not very amused by the interruption. 

“What? Why?” Shauna and Dani asked, adding one word to the other. The manager seemed to sink into an even deeper state of annoyance, as if it wasn’t his job to tell them what they had done wrong.

“Customers have complained about two teenagers roaming the store, saying odd things, figured you were doing drugs, but you two don’t look like your high.” He gave them a look over, they didn’t appreciate it one bit. “So I am just going to ask you to leave before I call the cops.” The manager let out an annoyed sigh.

Dani and Shauna looked at each other a bit scared and annoyed, maybe Beeltejuice would just follow them out? Hopefully he wouldn’t be difficult… They were very wrong. All of a sudden a beach chair came out of nowhere and was thrown into the manager who promptly clatter to the floor along with the chair.

Dani and Shauna looked up to see Beetlejucie standing, bent over a little so he wouldn’t hit his head on the ceiling from his higher ground, cackling and the beach chair he was sitting in gone. The manager began to collect himself now very pissed. The two teens looked at each other and then at the demon, ready to make a dash.

“Hurry!” Shauna screeched and the three booked it. The manager looking around very confused on how the two teens managed to throw a chair at him without touching it. All of a sudden that same manager fell back to the ground, feeling as if he was just run over by a grown man, because technically he was, just couldn’t see said grown man.

He groaned as he laid on the ground contemplating why he even took this job, everyone in this town was bat shit crazy.

* * *

The teens and the demon tailing them didn’t stop running until they hit a nearby back road. “Jeez BJ, causing us to flee to places in one day.” Shauna let out a tired breath. Beetlejuice took it at compliment, turning over onto his back and hands crossed behind his head and leg cross over the other as he floated and lounged next to them.

“It's what I do best.” Beetlejuice hummed which got him a little bit of a smack from Shauna but she missed due to her sluggish behavior, she wasn’t enjoying the fact they had to run after all the walking they had done that day already.

“I know this road, there is some old train tracks nearby, no one will bother us there, we can goof off all we want.” Dani eventually chimed in after a few moments of silence. 

“Really, I didn’t know there were train tracks around here…” Shauna said curious but a little confused. Beetlejuice only knew because he had flown over the town several times and thanks to the Maitlands little town replica. 

“Yeah, I got lost a couple years ago and followed it back into town to this same road” Dani replied, not giving any more insight despite Shauna’s attempts to get it out of her about why she was ‘lost’ and at the edge of town.

Dani played it off as a joke mostly and Shauna eventually gave up. “Fine keep your secrets, railroad wanderer” Shauna teased. Dani only laughed.

“Oh! That reminds me of a story I read online!” Dani’s eyes grew big, it was later in the afternoon already so perfect time for spooky stories. “It's about a woman or was it a schoolgirl? I dunno, but she tripped and got cut in half by a train.”

“Oh is that all?” Shauna said laughing a bit. Dani became expressie and finished explaining while talking with her hands a bit.

“No, her spirit haunts the tracks and she cuts her victims in half just like she was, creepy right?” Dani mused, it had to be at least somewhat effective in being creepy since they had just made it to the railroad tracks themselves.

“Nice, hey Beej that sound realistic when it comes to ghosts?” Shauna got the demons attention, he had been spacing out a bit.

“I didn’t even think to ask BJ!” Dani’s smile grew wider and her attention was set on Beetlejuice.

“Oh, uh,” He scratched his chin, thinking hard “What was her name. Tiki Torch?” He grumbled “no.”

“Teke Teke?” Dani finally remembered and supplied.

“Yeah, hadn’t seen her in forever. What was the question again?” He asked, yeah he had totally zoned out earlier.

“Wait she is real!?” Dani shouted.

“You know her?” Shauna added.

“Yeah, not a bad gal, until she decided she wanted to see if she could disfigure a demon like she does the breathers, that demon being me. We are not on speaking terms.” He said the last part squinting his eyes. 

“So does that mean all urban legends are true, the ones with ghosts and demons?” Dani asked. Beetlejuice shrugged.

“Not always, ghosts ones are a little more choppy, the demons ones are more likely to be true though.” Beetlejucie rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Demons that come to earth usually like to make a lasting impression.”

“Hey, bug boy.” Shauna said then paused. “Been meaning to ask, since we're on the topic of demons, what's the deal with you? Why are you so different?” She said. Beetlejuice looked a way a little but was mostly confused. 

“Nothing different, born a demon, still a demon” He gave an unamused shrug. Dani kicked a large rock in the background of the conversation, it made a clacking noise against the metal rail of the track, but both teens still gave the demon their attention.  
“Lydia said something about you being banished, is that why no one else can see you? Or are demons invisible like ghosts are?” Shauna finally spit out, getting a little impatient by tried to respect Beetlejucie’s boundaries, well if he had any.

“Nah, demons are invisible to most people. They can just interact with the living plane easier than I can, I guess.” He grumbled the last part, clearly skipping out on many details. “And yeah I was banished from hell, not the netherworld or living plane or anything.” He said, ton lifting a bit. His banishment was something he was more willing to talk about.

“Ok, so then what's the deal with all the demon stories? Like you heard about demons causing all this harm to the people they haunt, making them kill themselves, kill others, etc.” Dani asked, theorist brain going on a roll here. “And if I got my facts straight, you actually prevented Lydia from offing herself.” Dani said a bit sad that her friend had felt she needed to do that, but it wasn’t like Dani didn’t know how she felt sometimes.

Beetlejuice shifted in his floating position uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, its cause I ain't as much of a dick as the others” He grumbled angrily, the teens watched as his hair seemed to shift colors into more blues and purples as well as his undershirt.

“The other demons?” Shauna asked and Dani added onto “So you are different?” Dani paused for a minute, “Well I mean we knew that. Despite not ever meeting another demon, haha.” Dani laughed a little.

Beetlejucie just gave a grunt in response and a few moments of silence followed. “Demons that come to harass the living” He paused, biting his tongue a bit. “They take advantage of breathers, like use them as batteries.” He tried to make his statement make sense.

“Oh like in the movies! Where the ghost or demon feeds off the living person until they die or go over the rail?” Dani said a little too excited, but BJ rebounded off that energy.

“Bingo!” He said a bit more cheerier. “That's why they can interact with the living plane so easily, they got the energy to do it without a summons.” Beetlejuice explained.

“I get it!” Shauna said loudly, “That makes a lot of since actually, as much as you like being mr big bad and scary I could never imagine you hurting any of your family, especially Lydia like that.” Shauna supplied. Beetlejuice noticeably relaxed, brighter greens returning to his hair and outfit. He liked these two twerps they were smart.

He was a demon sure, he could technically feed off the life force of the Deetz even the Maitlands since they were vulnerable when they were in the living world, but he had never been that shitty of a demon. He wasn’t like his mom, that was for sure.

They walked and talked, joked a bit more about old legends and stoires until Shauna got a text message from her older sister, telling her its time to head home. “See you guys later, hey Beej check on Lyds for me and tell her to keep me updated.” Shauna gave her two friends a soft smile before making her way back the way they came.

“I guess we should start heading back too” Dani smiled, The followed Shauna just at a slower pace until they hit an old trail. “This will get us to your home sooner, we can just take it, but we better hurry before it's dark.” Dani lead the demon along.

“Why, scared of the dark bud?” Beetlejucie cackle. 

“Nah, but my step mom locks the doors when the sun goes down, I really don’t want to spend the night on the porch again.” Dani said, no sadness or happiness in her voice, Beetlejuice even felt uneasy about how normal Dani made that sound.

“Kid, what the hell is up with that?” Beetlejuice floated partially in front of her, a concerned look on his face, something Dani had never seen directed at her from the demon.

“What?” Dani said a bit uncomfortable now. 

“locking the door thing?” He paused, “That ain't right.” He crossed his arms to make his point more clear.

“Yeah I know, but there isn’t anything I can do about it, she had locked the door ever since her crazy ex boyfriend tried breaking in.” Dani explained, excessively with her hands. Beetlejuice oly furrowed his brow. Silence followed them for a minute before Beetlejuice finally spoke up.

“Ya know” a pause “You got the same permissions as Lyds right?” beetlejuice tried to put a hum in his raspy voice to sound more cheerier. Dani looked at his confused. “To summon me I mean. If ya ever need to” He looked away, appearing a bit bashful at the notion.

Dani figured he wouldn’t have made the same offer in front of Shauna, as outspoken and easy to start teasing as she was, but she also figured the same offer applied to Shauna as well. Dani snapped back into reality at Beetlejuice’s next statement.

“Gotta figure out a way to tell ya my name though” He grumbled, scratching his chin and looking down. His position had changed to on where he was more on his stomach but it was mostly just him learned forwards, his knees bent behind him as he floats.

Dani walked closer to him and locked her arm around his elbow much like her and Shauna had done earlier. “Don’t worry about it, Lydia let your name slip a while ago, plus the whole star gazing thing.” Dani hummed. “Beeteljuie” She said and she watched as his eyes widened, but a soft smile came across his face.

She was surprised he didn’t make many jokes about her summoning him, maybe he was finally content with the fact he had a family and friends that loved him and that could see him. He didn’t have to force them to pay attention to him, they would give him their attention happily.

They continued walking and made it back to the sidewalk they were on earlier between Lydia’s house and the park. Their conversations were tame for the most part, but as the house on the hill came into view Dani wanted to make sure of one more thing.

“Hey, Beetle” She hummed, he turned at his new established nick name. “Thanks, for the offer I mean, and same goes to you.” She said he looked at her confused. They made their way to the base of the hill the house sat on.

“What do ya mean kid?” He asked. 

“If you ever need someone to lean on, I know I am just a kid, but like, I am your friend ya know. I want to be there for you like I am for Shauna and Lydia.” Dani was a little embarrassed, she scratched the back of her head. “I am really glad I got to spend the day with you.” She smiled.

“You too bud” He ruffled Dani’s hair and she gave an annoyed yelp before laughing. “And I will keep that in mind.” he gave her a big toothy grin. Beetlejuice made his way up the driveway, soon turning around to give his attention to the teen shouting at him.

“Make sure to tell Lydia about the breach chair incident” Dani shouted laughing, her eyes widened as she remembered the best of the day “OH! And you basically mauling Claire, don’t skip that” Dani laughed and so did Beetlejuice, both had totally forgotten about how their little adventure had started.

Beetlejuice and Dani waved each other off and Dani hurried her pace home, so she would get there before sunset. Thankfully she had plenty of time, and even if she didn’t she knew Beetlejuice had her back.

* * *

#### Some Fun Doodles

  



	12. Period Cramps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mood swings all around! Lydia is still suffering from really bad period cramps and Charles and Delia reluctantly leave on a business trip. Barbara, Adam, and Beetlejuice have a heart to heart. Then shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long guys, but there is a little bit of angst in here, so I hope that makes up for it!
> 
> I will do spelling and grammar check on a later date, just really wanted to post this <3

Another day came and went and by the end of it Lydia was still not feeling herself. Charles and Delia growing more concerned offered to cancel the business trip they had planned so that they could be home if anything happened.

Delia had even proposed taking Lydia to the doctor, even though she was more of a natural remedies type of woman, she would not put her step daughter or anyone's life at risk when she knows there are professionals who know what they are doing. But Lydia had once again convinced them it was just her menstrual cycle and nothing else, it's what everyone thought it was anyway, at most maybe she had picked up a bug?

“It's fine Delia, you and Dad go.” Lydia shifted herself so she would be propped up and sitting straight. This was to appear more well then ill, but it didn’t seem to change the looks on Charles’s and Delia’s faces.

“Dear, I don’t know…” Delia replied, looking over at her husband.

“Pumpkin” Charles looked at his daughter sternly.

“Dad, Mo- Delia.” Lydia got out of bed, getting a distressed noise from Delia who looked concerned as the color seemed to drain from Lydia’s face. “ I am fine, feeling better already. Now go to that meeting” She turned her father and Delia around and put a hand at the base of their backs and herded them out of her room.

“It has been like almost 4 full days now, I am sure it's almost over” Lydia said, placing her hand on her hip as she normally does despite her unusually pale complexion, yes more pale than usual. She was sure here period symptoms would go away soon, it had been about the normal amount of time they had lasted anyway. Plus she wasn’t spotting as much, it was just cramps.

Charles and Delia didn’t look very convinced, but Lydia was winning them over. Lydia mostly just wanted everyone to stop worrying over her, having 4 adults and a demon breathing down your neck is annoying especially when your ill as a hornet because of hormones. Their attention soon turned to that of their favorite demon floating through the door to Lydia’s room.

“Heya Babes!” Beetlejuice said in a cheery voice, floating on his back as if he was lounging, hands folded behind his head. “Chuch, Del” He greeted the two parents individually by their nicknames before returning to Lydia. “Whatcha doin out of bed squirt? Feelin better?” He said hopeful.

“Yup!” Lydia said, “I mean I am tired, but totally feeling better” She gave him an evil smile as an idea popped into her head. “Hey how about me, you, Momland and Dadland all have a movie night downstairs in the living room” her plan was successful Beetlejuice’s eyes lit up hugely.

“Really?! Can we watch the conjuring again? Oh or how about IT?” Beetlejuice went on rambling, Lydia only supplied that they would figure it out once they find out what the Maitlands have and had not seen horror movie wise.

Beetlejuice was ecstatic, he waved them all off, “I am gonna go let the Hotland know!” He said, as he phased out of the door that he entered through. The two adults and teen were laughing at his hyper mood and the whole scene seemed to finally calm Charles and Delia down.

“See totally fine, got plans with my favorite specters to” Lydia stated, giving her parents a confident smile.

“Well they haven't got to spend a lot of time just the four of them. Plus the Maitlands are so very protected” Delia said a bit more hushed to her husband, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself as well as her husband.

Charles let out a deep breath and placed a hand on Lydia shoulder, “Alright Pumpkin, and if anything and I mean anything goes wrong or you aren't feeling well you call.” He lectured. 

“Of course, dad” She smiled at him “I know how important this meeting is to you,” she added, Charles had finally gotten some investors who were _ actually _ interesting to funding one of his projects after the gated community idea flopped. He had been working day and night to get everything ready, but was willing to completely miss it for his daughter, Lydia appreciated the thought.

* * *

The day passed easily enough, Charles and Delia decided not to send Lydia to school due to her consistent low grade fever. Lydia didn't mind one bit, she enjoyed ideas spending the day with her favorite ghostly godparents and demon. 

She slept in and the Maitlands gladly made her a late breakfast which they joined her for, talking about all they had gotten done in her sickly absence. 

“Believe it or not, BJ has been a huge help with the replica.” Adam gave his god daughter a big smile. Lydia was happy the Maitlands and Beetlejuice were getting along, they were some of her favorite people after all.

“He has! He is very good at painting the landscape, mostly because he likes flicking the bristles of the paintbrush” Barbara added, covering her mouth as she laughed a little.

“That’s really great guys,” Lydia gave them a soft smile doing her best to put on an energetic face but her act from that morning only exhausted her further. “I can tell Beej really likes spending time with you two.” She snickered a bit, just because she wasn’t feeling well didn’t mean she wasn’t still the mischievous friend to a love struck demon. 

“Oh.” Barbara looked over at her husband, they both had noticed the same thing but they were enjoying his company more than questioning it. “Well I suppose that goes both ways” she laughed, cheeks getting a little more red then they were prior. 

“Beetlejuice has calmed down a lot, less feral” Adam chuckled, playing with the salt shaker on the table and Barbara just fiddled her fingers and watched her husband's body language. 

“Not really, you guys are just giving him what he had been wanting” Lydia said absent mindedly, more bored with the conversation then she meant to be.

“What do you mean?” Barbara questioned. Adam just gave a look that delivered the same question that his wife asked before he had the chance to.

“When I first met Beej on the roof he was, _eager_ to be seen, and once I had summoned him at the dinner party and we spent those few days together, he sort of just made more since…” Lydia took a deep breath trying to figure out the best way to explain the psychoanalysis she had done on her demonic best friend. 

“He just wanted to be seen, he was demanding yes but I knew how he felt so it didn’t bother me one bit.” She looked away when she references herself but returned her stair back to the Maitlands “He just wanted your attention, you gave it to him, he isn’t fighting for it anymore.” Lydia concludes.

“I see, and I guess that would explain the crude behavior?” Adam asked.

“No, he is still a pervert, just a…” Barbara added but paused “more bearable one?” She said in a more hushed tone. 

“Nah BJ hasn’t changed that much, you two have” Lydi gave the two a cheesy grin once she saw their eyes grow wide. “You two changed your perception of Beej, treated him less like a pest and more like a person, or well demon” Lydia rested her head in her hand, elbow supporting it. 

“I mean, I suppose, but we, hmm, but BJ has grown a lot, how he acts with you and how is he-“ Barbara tried explaining her mind, but was failing miserably. 

“Beetlejuice was always kind to Lydia though, he made sure she was fed, made her happy, he even prevented her from..” Adam paused not wanting to really bring up the fact that Lydia, their precious Lydia had almost became a ghost like them. “He only flipped when-“

“When he thought I was leaving him to find dead mom.” Lydia interrupted. “And Momland, ever consider that he is more bearable in his advanced because you two might actually like him back?”

Both Adam’s and Barbara’s faces grew red, eyes wide, and their body language panicked. “What?!” The shouted in unisons. Lydia only gave them an evil smile and a laugh. 

“Your reaction is noted,” she chuckled and the two only looked at each other in worry. “You guys will have to face the facts at some point, I mean you have an entire afterlife to do it” she laughed. 

“Lydia” Barbara scolded. 

“I am only teasing, you guys are the ones who gave it away, but you already know how obvious ** he ** is about it. 

Lydia went to stand up and put her plate away and possibly continue teasing the two red faced ghosts that just got called out on their possible feelings for a certain demon. But the color suddenly drained from her face and her strength faltered leaving her to grab onto her chair and table.

Adam and Barbara scrambled around the table despite the fact they could have phased right through it, most likely forgetting in the heat of the moment. 

“Lydia are you ok?” Adam cries

“Dear, do you think we should call Charles and Deleia?” Barbara asked her husband.

“No, just stood up to fast, probably just low iron.” Lydia breathes out, she felt her breath a little her stomach was hurting her really bad now but she really didn’t want to go to the trouble of going to the doctor or having her parents drive all the way back home. “ I think I am just going to go get a little more rest” 

“Ok, let’s us help you up the stairs then.” Adam supplies, Barbara just directed a look of worry to Lydia, Barbara herself had miserable periods during her life as well, but something just didn’t feel right, was Beetlejuice’s paranoia rubbing off on her or did he have a point?

Once they made it to Lydia’s room they noticed that Beetlejuice had made his way into there as well. He was digging through Lydia’s book bag and found a bag of candied bugs that Shauna had bought. 

Shauna had continued sending him snacks that fit his unique appetite for bugs. “Yo” he greeted the Maitlands and Lydia who went straight for Lydia’s bed.

Beetlejuice watched as they tucked her in and Lydia’s expression become more at ease as the heat of the heating pad relaxed her. “Lydia still isn’t feeling well, maybe we should call a doctor?” 

“Aw Scarecrow!” Beetlejuice began floating, that feeling he had been ignoring, the one everyone said was just paranoia, becoming forefront in his mind once again. “You said you were better” her furrowed his brows. “What about movie night tonight?”

Lydia laughed, “we are still going to do it I am just going to get a little more sleep, and ** I am ** fine.” She paused “just tired”. She had to be, they were just cramps right? Really, really bad cramps. 

Everyone exchanged looks, they were not sure what to do. Barbara was pretty sure it was just her period but didn’t want to dismiss it, it could be the start of something like endometriosis or something similar. Adam agreed with his wife’s theory, but to their knowledge Lydia was not yet set up with a gynecologist, which would take time to do. 

Beetlejuice was just frustrated, he trusted Lydia and he felt a little betrayed. He was her bffff forever and she had lied about her well being to him? 

Lydia watched their expressions and figured she had a decent understanding of what was going through their heads, “Again, I am fine” she snapped, “I just want some rest,” she looked over at Beetlejuice sad face “come on Beej,” her voice softened. 

Beetlejuice took a deep breath, “I trust ya kid.” He finally said and floated over next to the Maitland’s and laid a hand on each of their shoulders. “But, you should listen to your parents” 

Adam and Barbara were surprised that he had put them in charge, but a part of the was also not surprised. Beetlejuice trusted Lydia and Lydia trust them, so by that same logic did they mean Beetlejuice trusted them as well? 

Lydia sat up and groand, heck Beetlejuice was the one guilting her now? She really couldn’t get any peace could she? “Delia and Charles aren’t here and you two are ghosts, you can’t exactly drive me to the doctor.” She grumbled in a smart ass tone.

Adam and Barbara gave her a glare, they were not in the mood for her tone of voice or disrespect. Lydia saw their glares and her expression and tone softened, she felt guilty about her behavior and words, “I will text them about making me an appointment, but only when they get back tomorrow” Lydia added the last part quickly, announcing her one condition they had to agree to.

“Fine, I guess we don’t have a choice” Barbara finally admitted.

“So Chuck and Del will be back tomorrow?” Beetlejuice asked and Lydia hummed in confirmation. “So we can still have movie night!” he pumped his fists. They chuckled at his light hearted behavior.

* * *

Beetlejuice was eager to talk to the Maitlands about what movie they have and have not seen, even bringing up some netflix series he and Lydia had watched. They moved their conversation to the attic as requested by Lydia who still wanted to attempt and get some rest.

“What about those old disney ones we watched during Halloween Adam?” Barbara chimed in, sitting on a chair next to the replica of the town. 

“Oh, the one about the twin witches or halloween town??” He piped in way to excited.

“What, Disney?” Beetlejuice sounded disgusted “Disney doesn’t have any gore or violence.” he pouted. 

“No, but they are lovely shows” Adam chuckled, patting Beetlejuice on the shoulder, Beetlejuice only grumbled in response. “You should give them a chance, it wouldn’t be that bad of a watch”

“BeetleJuice, you watch those drama shows, don't you?” Barbara chimed in “Those usually aren't gorey”

“No, but they are hilarious, especially when someone dies” Beetlejuice replied, floating in a lounging position, “You breathers are never _ that dramatic _ in real life” he cackled. Barbara and Adam just rolled their eyes.

Adam scratched his chin, “I dunno falling through the floor of you new home is pretty dramatic,” he argued. A grin escaped Beetlejuice. 

“I will give you that A-dog, y’all’s grand fall was worthy of any angels” Beetlejuice said, sounding more flirty then he originally intended, but once he realized it he was not sorry one bit.

“Angels ey?” Barbara cocked her eyebrow at him. “I suppose” she chimed in looking over at her husband who was laughing.

“Guess that's better then the ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven one.’” Adam answered, Beetlejuice made an ‘oof’ sound which he had learned from Lydia and Barbara chuckled at the two.

“Speaking of that, for lack of better words ‘did it’ or were you always a demon?” Barbara directed her question at Beetlejuice who faltered in mid air a bit caught off guard by the question. “Sorry, I was just curious, you don’t have to answer” Barbara retreated her statement a bit.

“Nah Babs, your all good, too good” He snorted at the last part, “I have always been a demon, and to answer you next question yeh, so demons where something similar to what you breathers consider angels, but like, those are top dogs” he held his hand out flat waving it side to side as if to illustrate how vague he left the statement on purpose.

“Oh” Adam replied intrigued, “So there is a hierarchy?” he asked. Beetlejuice looked confused.

“Gonzontite” Beetlejuice replied with a bit of a snicker. Adam and Barbara rolled their eyes.

“Its a chain of command, or like bosses and underlings.” Barbara elaborated before Adam had the opportunity to. 

“Oh yeah, got a whole bunch of different big honcho families” Beetlejuice scratched his facial hair “Like gangs” he supplied with a big toothy grin.

“Thats… nice” Barbara gave a false smile while she laced her fingers together, that explained.. A lot actually.

“Not really, hell is, well hell” Beetlejuice cackled and Barbara breathed a sigh of relief at his humor. They were under the impression Beetlejuice had spend at least some amount of time there but they were filled in by Lydia about his banishment but still had no answer as to why he was banished. How does one even get banished from hell? (Bad puns?)

It was quiet for a few minutes, Adam had walked over to the replica and started fiddling with something, Beetlejuice’s eyes widened as he noticed that some new additions had been made to their project since his last visit up to the attic, “woah, you got the forest done!” He shouted and floated over the model.

“Yup!” Adams eyes light up brighter than the stars, Beetlejuice couldn’t help but stare at the look Adam had when it came to his work, it was so passionate and inspired. Beetlejuice could melt in his own shoes, luckily that was a pun he did not act out, now that would be a bit awkward.

Barbara leaned over, careful not to damage anything, “Look here” she pointed into the center and move the thin bristles of the trees, there was a tiny campsite. “When we did the live illusion earlier, we noticed some campers in the woods and thought it would be a nice permanent addition to the replica.” She said with a soft look on her face.

Once again Beetlejuice felt like he could melt into a puddle of luckstruck goo, he had gotten better about hanging out with them without freaking but he still caught himself zoning in to how amazing they are. He loved working on this replica with them, he got to show them how to use their ghostly powers and spend time with them. He even got to eat paint! Well he wasn’t supposed to do that, but what the Maitlands didn’t catch him doing doesn’t hurt em.

“Oh, I wonder if they are at the campsite, it's starting to get late after all.” Barbara hummed. Beetlejuice took the hint and with a snap of his fingers the illusion was real time. Beetlejuice was much better at doing this type of illusion than the Maitlands, he had much more practice and it was much more accurate, or so he thought.

“Oh, they are!” Adam said, pointing at the little people setting up a third tend and another off a little ways picking up sticks. Barbara looked at her husband who met her eyes, then they both turned their attention to Beetlejuice who was staring innocently at the campsite unknowing of the looks he was getting.

“Its missing something though” Barbara said putting a finger on her chin, tapping it a couple times. Beetlejuice looked at her confused. 

“What did I miss, it should be real time, I did this like two days ago I ain’t rusty or a-” Beetlejuice was interrupted by a finger tapping his lips. Barbara shushed him and Adam pointed over at the house on the hill.

“Here look” Adam said pointing at the house they all resided in, it was real time so there was no movement outside of it which was accurate, Beetlejuice was officially very confused. Adam chuckled and bounced his hand a little before snapping and changing the illusions similarly to how Beetlejuice had done.

The illusion changed so that it was night in the town, stars floated right above it. Dark coloration filled the small atmosphere of the illusion to illustrate the night sky and small figures could be seen on the roof of the house on the hill.

Adam had recreated the night they were all on the roof at the seep over, accept this time Delia and Charles had been up there as well. It was just like that night other than that detail, Beetlejuice between both Maitlands, them leaning on him and him still in his dressed up outfit. 

A detail he didn’t really get to notice that night was the looks on their faces, they were so at peace and happy next to him, he watched the illusion move and the two miniature Maitlands smiled at each other and at the demon between them, Beetlejuice could feel his heart flutter. Who knew it could do that? 

“Oh jeez,” Beetlejuice finally looked up at the two who were giving him soft and kind looks, he could hardly handle it, pink streaks littered his hair and blush crept across his face. “I don’t think I have ever said this” a pause “like ever, in my life, well afterlife”

“Beetlejuice, your point?” Barbara stopped is rambling and refocused him back to what he was trying to say.

“Right, umm, I really appreciate” he scratched his facial hair real nervously, “you two ya know, I know I was real shitty when we first met, but the second chance even though I really didn’t deserve one,” he stumbled on his words. “I am happy you two gave me the chance to get to know you” Beetlejuice closed his eyes, pink littered his face, hair turning a pale pink and white. He gave a nervous chuckle.

The Maitlands were blown away, their hearts, though no longer beating, seemed to skip a beat. Did he just?? No. But what if he did actually genuinely? Oh my. What would they do? Adam’s mind raced as well as Barbara’s, did they actually fall for him, even just a little? Was Lydia right? No, no. Maybe? They looked at each other as if to confirm this, but did their best to conceal their shock.

“Thank you, Beetlejuice. We appreciate you taking the time to get to know us.” Barbara said, she placed her hand over Beetlejuice’s. 

“I am sure I am speaking for both myself and Barbara when we say we have enjoyed getting to know you a bit better as well, you gave us a chance to like you for well you” Adam took a deep breath, “I do admit we were not appreciate your behavior in the beginning, but I really think you have grown up, and become more of a good influence on Lydia rather than a bad one” Adam supplied Beetlejuice’s hair begin to appear a bit more green as he calmed a bit.

“Yeah, well Lyds has been amazing, as a friend and all. I really don’t deserve her.” Beetlejuice admitted, Adam and Barbara almost looked horrified, what was that sort of attitude coming from Beetlejuice. Sure they were past the whole part where he used to demand attention and relationships, but him and Lydia were best friends, they were two peas in a pod, incerperable. 

“You stop that right now!” Adam shouted, catching Beetlejuice and Barbara both off guard, but Barbara was the first of the two to recover. “You two are great friends and grow and learn from each other! You are both amazing people, do not ever think yourself less than” Adam glared at the demon.

Beetlejuice didn’t really know what to think, was he mad at him? He was just saying the truth, it wasn’t negative to Lydia or them, just him… “A-dog, listen, I really am though” He said, blue and purple sparking up like crazy in his hair. Adam and Barbara grew more determined to remove him from this mind set.

“You are not!” Barbara became infuriated. Beetlejuice sunk back a bit, Barbara saw this and softened her tone and body language, grabbing his hand and walking him closer to her an Adam who had both stood up out of anger. “Beetlejuice, I don’t know where this mindset came from, but it's wrong.”

“How are you so sure?” Beetlejuice began a bit agitated, “I know you said you are happy you got to know me, but seriously Babs, I’m a demon, a bastard of all things, you really don’t know that much” He grumbled the last part. Adam took note as his hair was riddled by about every color they had ever seen minus the pink. Strange thing though it was dull, and becoming increasingly more dull as the conversation continued. 

“I don’t give a shit if your a demon, you have proven to us time and time again you are capable of love and compassion and empathy and UGH” Barbara begin to shout and pull at her hair. “You are basically the ideal older brother for Lydia, and your here shitting on yourself for it?” She basically growled.

“Just because I would start the damn apocalypse for that kid, doesn’t mean I didn’t do shitty things in the past, Barbara! Get it through your thick beautiful head that I am not a good person and probably will never be! That's why I don’t have a god or satan given chance with you two amazing people!” Beetlejuice shouted, hair a dark dull red leading into some purples. His face had gone red and huffed and puffed.

Adam had been standing next to them attempting to interject by failing, eventually putting his hands up on a mock surrender when hands started to be used to express their anger, basically that just meant he had an increased chance of getting hit if he got took close. 

“Gosh freaking DAMMIT Beetlejuice!” Barbara huffed getting in his face and shoved a finger in it, “No! You get it through your thick skull that you have given us a million reasons to forgive you as a person even if we don’t forgive all your past actions, a million reasons for us to respect you, a million reasons for us to want you to be a part of our afterlives!” Barbara took a deep breath lowering her hands to Beetlejuice’s shoulders and clamping her grip down on the sides of his arms. 

“You are going to learn to love yourself, or so help me I am going to beat your ass into next week” She said. Beetlejuice just stared at her in shock, he watched as Adam walked up behind his wife placing a hand on her shoulder and the other on Beetlejuice’s.

“Beetlejuice I really don’t know where this is coming from, but we want you to know we are here for you. Don’t make the decision we will hate you because your past for us, let us make that decision, and I promise you, we will still appreciate the good things you have done for Lydia and for us.” Adam stared directly into Beetlejuice eyes, not giving him any room to escape this extremely needed lecture. 

“We didn’t just up and forgive you for what you did all those months ago, and some of your actions we still don’t forgive you for, but you earned our respect and forgiveness for a good number of things. You worked hard for that and we are not going to let you ignore your hard work” Barbara tightened her grip, she watched as the colors in Beetlejuice’s hair just continued the change, but his eyes stayed a consistent soft mix of blue and green. His eyes moved between Adam and Barbara face’s.

Beetlejuice couldn’t move even if he wanted to, he was locked into place. Without the Maitlands realizing it the were actively using their powers as well as their physical grip to keep him in place or else he would have run from the confrontation entirely. It was similar to how they attempted to lead him into the netherworld after Lydia had killed him after the whole marriage fiasco.

Tears threatened to spill in Beetlejuice’s eyes, the Maitlands softened their hold a bit. Adam bringing the hand he had placed on Beetlejuice’s shoulder to wipe away the forming tears under his right eye. Beetlejuice didn’t even attempt to lean into the had like he had done in past displays of affection, he was in too much shock. 

“I-” Beetlejuice attempted to speak but his voice came out more horse and broken than its normal raspy sound. His face betrayed him, it went from shock to the early signs of hard crying, his bottom eyelids raised up as if to catch the tears and his eyebrows furrowed causing his forehead to rinkle. The corners of his mouth began to tug downward, despite his efforts to fight it.

Barbara let out a bit of a sigh, knowing their message actually made it through his previously mentioned thick skull. She extended her arms behind the short demon’s head and wrapped them around him. One on his back and the other holding his head to her chest and shoulder. Adam who was positioned more at the side, reached for his wife's far shoulder and the other met it after traveling around Beetlejuice. 

The two ghosts embraced the demon who still attempted to fight back his emotions, he was trembling but they Maitlands were holding him so tight no one looking from the outside would be able to tell. Barbara began to rub the back of his back and open and close her hand in his messy hair. Making whooshing noises like a mother would to comfort their crying child.

A few minutes of this passed, Barbara and Adam began to wonder how this even came about, it started with him saying something about not deserving Lydia, and they had snapped at him about it, but it was more than that, he acted like he didn’t deserve any sort of compassion or love. Then it hit them, in connection to them bringing up the events from several months ago they recalled what Juno, his mother had said.

Barbara had to fight the urge not grind her teeth, if she ever met that bitch again, she would give her a piece of her mind. Even if they were demons no one deserves to be told they don’t deserve love. Although she wasn’t surprised it stimmed from Juno, she had probably hit the mark with that theory. She was very happy that Beetlejuice had killed her, that was an easy thing on the list to forgive him for. She laughed a bit internally, who knew she would forgive any type of murder, you learn something new everyday. 

Beetlejuice had finally calmed down a bit, his arms were now lightly wrapped around the two Maitlands, they had not noticed this when they were lost in thought but were glad when they had discovered he had accepted their embrace. Barbara allowed Beetlejuice to pull away, his eyes were puffy and a little wet but most his tears had been absorbed by her shirt. Which was fine, she would take tears and snot any day over her friend being in emotional distress.

“Do you feel any better?” She said softly, still lacing her fingers through his hair. Adam took a step back, allowing the small group hug to gain a bit more breathing room, which Beetlejuice took advantage of taking a deep breath. It came out a little more shaky then he had expected but it still helped quite a bit. 

“Y- eah” He breathed out, his voice was still a bit hoarse but he sounded much better. “Th-ank y-ou” He gave them a weak but genuine smile. He whispered the last comment a bit, so his voice was not heavily strained. The two Maitlands looked at each other and smiled. 

“How about we go wake Lydia up, well if we haven't already” Adam said chuckling a bit “and see if she still wants to do Movie Night?” He smiled. Beetlejuice beamed and they made their way out of the attic. Barbara and Adam continued to keep a supportive hand on either Beetlejuice arm or shoulder, as if they were afraid he would fall apart or disappear on them after such an important moment. 

Adam and Barbara had begun discussing the same Disney halloween movies they had brought up before, what Beetlejuice had not realized is they were asking him if they could still give the shows a watch for old times sake. Beetlejuice couldn’t focus on them, this thick sense of dread hit him all at once in front of Lydia’s bedroom door.

It felt familiar but unnerving, unnatural. It reminded him of that night he decided to haunt the Maitlands, the same unease of emanate death. That was it. It has that same aura that surrounded the house and the hill that grew more and more dense the closer the Maitlands came to the moment they would fall to their deaths.

The Maitland’s stopped their conversation, they had been attempted to get Beetlejuice attention, concerned by his sudden change in expression and new solid black hair. They looked at him with scared expressions, they had never seen him like so pale and horrified, they were unsure if it had to do with the new hair color, even that unerved them, it just wasn’t Beetlejuice.

“Beetlejuice” He head Adam say his name, but it was foggy like he was trying to talk to him from above the water he felt he was submerged in, it was cold and miserable. “ e ok?” “Be-le Jui-ce” again the two voices attempted to get his attention.

The sound seemed to swirl in his ears, and his balance felt as if it was shifting as he was sucked back into the real world, “Beetlejuice!” Adam shouted, his hands on his shoulders shaking him, that would explain the lack of balance part. “What's wrong?” Barbara as concerned.

Beetlejuice looked completely spaced out, but as soon as the Maitlands were able to get him to meet their eyes the wold regret they hadn’t. His eyes were a solid black, empty, and full of terror. “Lydia” He said, fear tripped off every syllable. He got a confused what or huh out of the two, he didn’t care or pay attention.

Beetlejuice rushed passed the two, opening the door with unnatural strength, forgetting the fact he could phase through it completely. If Beetlejuice's heart could drop any further into his stomach it would have. The Maitlands rushed over to a sweating and curled up Lydia. Her face contorted in pain and she gripped her stomach.

The Maitlands did their best to try and ease Lydia’s pain and figure out what was wrong, but Beetlejuice could only stare in horror in front of her bed. A black fog incased the air around Lydia, radiating off of her, it was like a vale that slowly got darker and darker. But not slow enough, it was the same one that encased the house and slowly focused on the Maitlands before their death. 

Beetlejucie seemed to be the only one in the room that could see this ominous fog, and he really wished he couldn’t. It surrounded Lydia, undisturbed and unfaltered by the two ghosts coming to her need, death had chosen Lydia, and Beetlejuice for once in his life was as terrified as he had ever been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the patience you guys have shown me , <3
> 
> Chapter 13 will wrap this little story up and then we will move on to one more little fun chapter before the big finale stuff, yee I am excited!!!


	13. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Maitlands and Beetlejuice manage to get Lydia medical help. Beetlejuice pulls a few new tricks out of his sleeves in order to make sure both him and the Maitlands are there for Lydia. Lydia's condition is finally revealed and the Maitlands bond with Beetlejuice through this stressful time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting earlier than planned, totally not because I fear for my life, nooooo >.>
> 
> I hope you guys like the chapter and hurt/comfort

The Maitlands continued to do their best to comfort Lydia. Barbara had climbed onto the bed and positioned herself where Lydia had been resting her head, allowing the teen to lay her head on Barbra’s lap and wrap her arms around her waist.

Barbara pet Lydia’s hair and tried doing anything that could calm the girl down, while Adam wracked his brain to figure out what was happening. “Does it hurt on both sides?” He asked his adoptive daughter, and attempted to put pressure on her right side where one of kidneys would be. “Around here?”

Lydia shook her head no, and attempted to grumble out the same verbal response but every time she shifted her body her stomach seemed to spasm and hurt worse. “Lydia, honey.” Adam swallowed hard, trying to force dont his fear and think rationally. “You need to tell us where it hurts” he watched Lydia loosened her grip from Barbara and turn more onto her back.

Lydia lifted her shirt to reveal her stomach which was red from the heading pad she had been laying on prior, she placed a hand on the lower part of her stomach, under her belly button. “Here” she breathed out, clearly forcing the words out of her mouth.

Adam removed her hand from her stomach, “Where your ovaries are?” he asked, confused. Had it been a cyst of some kind, or well he didn’t know what else it could have been. Lydia shifted back to her side to try and comfort herself from the pain. 

“Its lower” she whispered, Adam and Babara would have missed what she said if their attention wasn’t already completely on her. An idea crept into Adam’s mind, the pain, nausea, it sounded like a period, but what if. Lydia’s face contorted when he focused pressure onto a specific part of her lower stomach with his hands.

“Lydia,” He said, Lydia only turned her head gritting her teeth, she couldn’t stand it. “Lydia! You need to tell me if this hurts worse after I let go?” He said and watched for a response, Lydia swallowed hard and shook her head yes, doing her best to keep her eyes open despite them wanting to twist shut.

Beetlejuice finally snapped out of his useless state of shock when he noticed the fog seem to suddenly darken alongside Adam applying more pressure to her abdomen. He practically leapt forward when the same increased thickness seemed to lighten ever so lightly as Adam let go. Lydia’s expression however, did not display the same events, it contorted, her pain had not eased when the pressure had been removed.  
Lydia couldn’t think straight, she was hurting too much, she just wanted to sleep. If she slept it would go away right? Adam and Barbara were here, she was fine now. Everything was fine, and with that last thought Lydia lost consciousness. 

“Lydia, does it hurt worse?” Adam asked, looking up to see her face had softened just a bit, bit it was do to her losing consciousness rather than any pain letting up. “Lydia?” a pause “Lydia!?” Adam began to panic a bit more. Barbara attempted to lightly shake Lydia awake to not avail. 

Beetlejuice had made his way over to Adam, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning forward a bit to get his attention, “Whatever you did that was it.” He said, eyes never leaving Lydia. Adam and Barbara looked up at Beetlejuice confused but relieved someone knew something.

“I put pressure on her appendix.” Adam said, eyes widening, he looked over to his wife and to Beetlejuice “Do you think it could have ruptured?” he asked, Barbara took hold of Lydia’s phone which was on the bedside table on charge. She attempted to search the symptoms but struggled to get the phone to cooperate. 

After a minute or two of fighting a bugged out phone, Barbara was able to google the symptoms, “It makes sense, I think, It says it can become inflamed and rupture within 48-72 hours, how long has it been since her symptoms started?” Barbara asked as she watched the phone glitch again and return to its home screen, she set it down and the odd effects seemed to stop.

“I don’t know, her period started around four days ago, but she said it had stopped other than the cramps just today and-” Adam rambled. It took Beetlejuice to seemingly calm the two ghosts down. Eversense Beetlejuice saw the atmosphere around Lydia flicker he knew it wasn’t set in stone. 

He should have figured that out with the fact it had immediately surrounded Lydia’s person rather than the location. Death that was meant to happen, the type you couldn’t get around was planned, like the Maitland’s was. Lydia’s was sudden and unstable, there was hope.

“It doesn’t matter, we need to get her help.” Beetlejuice said, he leaned over and picked Lydia up, holding her as gently as he could. “There is still time, but she needs help **now**,” He breathed out, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself as well as the Maitlands. Barbara and Adam looked at the pale demon who stood waiting for them to do something.

Barbara grabbed Lydia’s phone once again and called for an ambulance, however the same interference occurred once again. “Hello? Yes we need help we --- What's the eme- --- Hello??--- Is anyone there--- he--lo---I need you to ---- speak---sending---” The back and forth between Barbara and the operator blurred together, the static becoming worse as Barbara began to panic even more. 

Beetlejuice carefully shifted Lydia’s weight in his arms, she groaned in pain, he did is best not to cause her any more discomfort but he knew he had to figure out a way to calm these two sporadic ghosts down. Ghosts were more or less embodiments of emotion, when they were unstable so was their environment, it was Barbara creating the interference without realizing it. 

“Babs, breath” he lowered his head a bit as he approached her, doing his best to get their attention. She looked at him with mixed emotions. Beetlejuice watched as her fear turned to frustration. 

“They can’t hear me! It won’t go through” Barbara finally spit out, the screen of the phone flickered as the static broke to let bits and pieces of the operators words through. “Can they even hear me? I am dead, could they hear you?” She frantically asked and gestures the phone to Beetlejuice who couldn’t take it with his arms busy holding Lydia. 

“No they can hear you, ghosts can manipulate stuff like that” Beetlejuice explained, surprisingly rationally, “And no, not unless I am summoned” a pause _“I can't do anything”_ his face suddenly contorted in fear but with a deep breath he did his best to stay focused. 

“Adam” Beetlejuice turned his attention to Adam who stood chewing on his thumb nail, “Grab Barbara, put your hand on her shoulder, something, I don’t care.” He sounded irritated and his spit the last part out in a hurry from his own panic “Focus on calming her down and call the damn breathers that know what to do” Beetlejuice’s grip tightened around Lydia who slowly began to slip back into consciousness “I am going to take Lyds down stairs” 

Beetlejuice gave the two a look that delivered that what he said not a suggestion but rather orders. Beetlejuice watched as Adam took a deep breath and placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder, she tried to copy his breathing but that wasn’t what Beetlejuice had meant. 

Ghosts fed off energy, including their own, but an internal smile grew across his face, he knew they learned fast and that’s what had happened, without realizing it, Adam was influencing Barbara’s panicked behavior and together they were stabilizing each other. It made since because they were married and had died together, they were more entwined dead then they were alive. 

Beetlejuice left the room as he heard Barbara begin to provide the location and have an ambulance sent to the house on the hill. Once he made it to the railing of the overhanging balcony he floated himself over it and down to the first floor as carefully as he could. 

Beetlejuice with a moment to his own thoughts took and deep breath and laid Lydia down on the coach of the living area. It would be the best place for her to be once help arrived, but that didn’t change the fact that his guilt was eating him from the inside out. He knew something was wrong early on, but he let it go when the others told him to, if he didn’t would it have changed anything? Would Lydia be ok?

He looked down at her and moved her messy hair out of her face. “Jeez kid, I messed up real bad didn’t I?” He said, not expecting a response. He had done his best to ignore that same ominous aura that surrounded her, however that was mostly to keep himself from acting a fool like the Maitlands had begun to do in their panic. He almost jumped back when he saw Lydia’s eyes attempt to flutter open. 

“Lydia?” He said, hopeful that she was starting to recover, she looked up at him and the Maitlands made their way down the stairs. “They are sending an ambulance!” Barbara shouted as she and Adam descended from the stairs to greet the two. They were ecstatic to see Lydia was starting to wake up and Barbara began to mother her once again, unable to not attempt to ease the child’s pain.

Adam stood next to Beetlejuice, a firm hand placed on the demons shoulder. Beetlejuice took a breath of relief, he felt much more calm now that Lydia was waking up and Barbara and Adam had made their way downstairs announcing they had finally contacted help. He watched that same aura around Lydia lighten more and more as time passed. He concluded the closer that help was, the higher chance she had of surviving.

“Hey Adam” Beetlejuice said over Barbara’s soft words directed to Lydia, “What was the whole appendix thing? Like what does that mean?” He kept his attention on Lydia and Barbara, but turned his head slightly to indicate his attention was on Adam as well. 

Adam shifted a bit,he had forgotten Beetlejuice was exactly human or used to be like him and Barbara “We think her appendix ruptured.” He supplied “if it was then we made the right call calling an ambulance, because it can go septic” Adams words went a bit dark at the last part translating to Beetlejuice that whatever that meant didn’t mean anything good. 

“BJ. Adam.” Barbara said getting the two men’s attention. She looked down at Lydia who was awake and had been attempting to get their attention, or at least that is the best Barbara could understand. Lydia’s words were slurred and unfocused, but a sound that resembled laughter soon escaped her.

“I guess you were right…” she said very softly, the two men leaned closer to hear her without invading her personal space. Adam moved closer to Barbara as he usually did leaning over her and watching curiously. “Huh, Beetlejuice” Lydia finished fixing out a laugh.

“Kid” Beetlejuice said in a deflated tone, his hair had remained pitch black throughout the entire event but if it wasn’t it most definitely would have turned to a deep shade of blue. His ears lowered alongside his shoulders, looking as small as possible despite his size. “No, just no” he whispered. Adam reaches over and grabbed the upper part of Beetlejuice’s arm as if to stabilize his declining emotional state. 

The short exchange of words was soon interrupted by the sound of a vehicle coming up the driveway. Adam rubbed his thumb in circles on Beetlejuice’s arm before letting go and going to the door. When he opened the door, he saw two EMTs opened the back of the ambulance, one quickly made their way over to the door to assess the situation. 

Adam lead the EMT to Lydia as she ran the same test Adam had to conclude if it was her appendix. Lydia was luckily cautious but unable to give a verbal response due to the pin. Adam and Barbara filled her in on the symptoms and the dry heaving Lydia has days prior. They were too focused on Lydia getting the care she needed they did not even realize that the first EMT a young lady, could see and speak to them, while the other paid them no mind. 

The Maitlands just assumes the second EMT was more focused on their job. They brought in a stretcher and louder Lydia up despite her grunts and annoyed faces she kept giving the EMTs and her ghostly godparents. She didn’t like this one bit but didn’t have the energy to fight them off, however. 

Beetlejuice watched silently, he hadn’t known what to think, sure he had seen emergency vehicles and the breaths that road in them before. Mostly at the scene of a crash, which the only reason he was there was to convince the recently deceased to hire him, but still. He just hoped these strange breathers with their strange equipment would help Lydia. 

They picked up the stretched and began loading it into the back of the vehicle, Beetlejuice stood on the porch with the Maitlands who could not leave the property without being transported to Saturn. Lydia looked back at her adoptive parents and best friend, fear creeping into her mind, the Maitlands couldn’t come, she would be alone… unless…

Lydia began to struggle a bit, despite medics best attempts to calm her, the first EMT that had noticeable seen the Maitlands earlier looked back at the porch with a concerned look, worried that they were not coming along as well. The seconds EMT hurried the first along, not wasting any precious time, closing one of the doors and leaving the other to the first. The second made his way to the front to drive. Barbara thought that was a bit odd, but she had no time to worry if they were understaffed or if another emergency was going on, Lydia needed her, needed them and they couldn’t be there for her. 

“Beetlejuice” A soft word escaped Lydia’s mouth, her voice was hoard and very weak. Beetlejuice felt that same tug in his gut that he did that day she got into a fight at school, he stood between the two Maitlands finally realizing she had intended to summon him. He looked at the two worried ghosts and a plan began to form in his mind, but it was completely dependent on if Lydia could finish the summons, she said it once in the house, once now, she only had to hit him with the B-word one more time. 

“Come on Lyds,” He whispered under his breath, grabbing Adams attention. Before they could even ask, Lydia’s face contorted as the stretcher jumped a little as it lowered to a level she could be worked on by the medic in the back of the truck. The young woman looked outside to the porch once again, her expression saddened and she shut the door. The ambulance bringing to make its way down the driveway. The woman turned her attention back to her patient and noticed her attempting to strain herself to say something, but the word or rather name was completely foreign to her.

Lydia raised her head, despite the strain it put on her, “Beetlejuice” She said before relaxing her neck and letting her head fall again, she breathed hard and her words came out mumbled but it did its job. Beetlejuice felt the familiar shift in dimensions, switching places between planes of existence. As soon as him and his power were relocated into the living plane he put his plan into motion, he grabbed the Maitlands by the hand and they could feel a strange energy travel up their arms, it came from Beetlejuice.

Before the Maitands had a chance to ask what was going on or even attempt to determine what the strange energy and feeling was for themselves, Beetlejuice leapt from the porch, pulling them along with him. They shouted in protest and braced themselves to be transported to Saturn, but instead they felt and saw a distortion of reality, as if they were being forced against an invisible wall. 

Beetlejuice grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the Maitland’s hands, bending his arms and pulling them forward from whatever invisible force was holding them back. Barbara closed her eyes tight and Adam locked his other hand around the one Beetlejuice had a hold of. The two ghosts heard a growl escape Beetlejuice as he made one last effort to remove them from their haunting parameters. Then just like that, they were out. They were floating, curitisy of Beetlejuice, after the ambulance. They actually left the house!  


Beetlejuice continued after the ambulance finally reaching it before it made the turn from the driveway onto the main road, he phased both himself and the Maitlands through the back to the surprise of the young EMT, who let out a yelp. “What on earth!” She cried. Lydia looked up at them as the made their way to her side, neither Maitland losing their grip on Beetlejuice, who they had noticed seemed to be their magical anchor to the world of the living now that they were outside the house on the hill. 

The young woman quickly recovered to the surprise of the Maitlands, she did all the necessary things she had needed to stabilize Lydia enough to transport her to the hospital. Lydia did not quite slip but into unctuousness but did take the opportunity to receive needed rest not that her some of her family was by her side once again. “You can see us right?” Barbara asked the young woman, finally letting the events catch up to her. Barbara swallowed hard, not sure what else to do since Lydia seemed to be out of it.

“Yes, you two are the Maitlands correct?” The woman asked, a smile coming across her face, a steady hand gracing Barbara’s, surprising contact was made that felt very similar to when Barbara was alive. Was this an effect of Beetlejuice’s magic? That was a question for later. Both the Maitlands and Beetlejuice looked at the woman a bit surprised. 

“How did you-?” Adam asked, “I work in the medical field, it would be a little silly for me not to see ghosts” The woman laughed out, “Also my younger sister spent the night with y’all not to long ago.” She gave a smile finally revealing her identity. “ I wasn’t sure if it was actually you two, I mean THE Maitlands Shauna is always on about, but once I saw Mr. Striped suit over here I knew I guess right.” She gestured to Beetlejuice who would have chuckled along with the Maitlands if his insides didn’t feel like they were being crushed together. “My name is Savannah by the way.” She supplied trying to comfort the panicked ghosts.

“Savannah,” Barbara tested the name, “Will Lydia be alright?” she added, removing her hand from Savannah’s and putting it on Beetlejuice’s shoulder, more or less bracing herself for the worse news. 

“She will be fine, I promise” Savannah reassured the three paranormal entities riding in the back of the ambulance with her. They all noticeably relaxed, Beetlejuice finally letting out a nervous laugh, breaking his unnatural silent. “I am pretty certain the issue is her appendix like you theorized.” she addressed Adam who only nodded, “Which the doctors can take care of, my mom is one of them so I know they are very good at their jobs” She said giving them a soft look. Now that Lydia was stabilized she knew her best bet was to calm her family. 

“Hear that kid” Beetlejuice finally spoke up getting everyone's attention, including Lydia’s despite her inability to communicate she had heard him, although to be fair her thoughts were not entirely focused, she felt hazy, like she was in a thick fog. “You gonna be just peachy.” A grin came across his face, but it soon falter due to the lack of response. His expression saddened and his own breathing seemed to come out more shaky than it had before, earlier it had seemed unnoticeable, non existent due to him holding his breath in response to the stress. Adam and Barbara leaned closer onto Beetlejuice, putting more of their weight against him as if to hug him between their bodies. 

Beetlejuice seem to calm a bit, Savannah’s expression softened as she watched the three act as a support for one another, they had each other figured out enough to know what did the trick. She internally gushed a bit, she would love to have a relationship like that one day. She removed herself from those thoughts, it wasn’t what was important at the moment. “So your Beetleguese, right” She asked recalling the name Shauna had let slip from her past conversations. However, she mispronounced his name, saying it the way it was spelled rather than Beetlejuice. 

“Beetlejuice,” Adam corrected, her eyes widened and she laughed a bit correcting herself, “Beetlejuice” Savannah was glad the mood had lightened abit, they were almost to the hospital only a minute or two more. Beetlejuice’s eyes quickly widened at the second saying of his name, specifically by the breather named Savannah. She started again to say something, “Bee-” Suddenly her mouth closed tightly. A zipper appearing where her lips where, panic rose and a muffled shout sounded from her enclosed mouth.

“Beetlejuice!” Adam and Barbara lectured at the sudden and unnecessary behavior. Beetlejuice shifted a bit. “Sorry girly,” He stated in a raspy voice, “I am already summoned so don’t go getting any ideas of saying my name for a second or third time” He grumbled. Savannah was about to ask why but she remembered her mouth was forced shut by its sudden replacement with a zipper, she traced it and began to undo it. Before she could say anything Beetlejuice’s expression went to Lydia and softened, “I ain’t leavin this kid, even if she is in good hands” he finally confessed. They zipper disappeared and her lips were back to normal, Savannah breathed a sigh of relief from the small scare.

Savannah concluded that something had happened concerning this whole ‘summoning thing’, she hadn’t seen him in the house and now realized the name Lydia was mumbling was his. She connected the dots that his name had to do with him being there, she swore off ever uttering her name unless told otherwise. Adam and Barbara came to a similar conclusion, they knew much more than Savannah did about summoning Beetlejuice, but this was new. What would happen if his name was uttered 3 times unbroken when he was summoned. Right now wasn’t the time to find out.

* * *

Once they arrived to the hospital Lydia was transported to emergency care and her parents were contacted. Adam, Barbara, and Beetlejuice kept their distance as Savannah had instructed them to do, Barbara wasn't too upset over it, mostly because she feared she could cause complications like she had done to the phone when trying to contact help. They stayed around the waiting room, staying to an unoccupied area that was near the doors they had rushed Lydia through.

They waited in silence until they saw Savannah in the distance, she approached another woman, who was older and very similar to her, they assumed it was Savannah’s and Shauna’s mother. Savannah glanced back at the Maitlands and Beetlejuice but did not directly announce their presence or bring her mother’s attention to them. They grew a bit impatient to hear about Lydia's condition, Barbara sought to ease her worries by talking to the two next to her. 

In an attempt to search her mind for something not directly related to Lydia’s condition, she became more aware of the feeling that had remained consistent, it was a feeling of energy traveling up her arm and to the center of her being. She had noticed it earlier when Beetlejuice had removed her and Adam from their haunting parameters but did not think to question it due to the circumstances. 

She looked over to Beetlejuice, really looked at him. He looked tired, similar to when he had exhausted his powers to save Lydia from an oncoming car. His eyes were sunken in more than usual and his hair still had not regained any of its color, his eyes dull and dark grey to match. “Beetlejuice” she paused, “How are you holding up, dear?” she shifted her weight to look more forward at him despite being in the chair next to him.

Beetlejuice didn’t answer right away, he just looked at her. His eyes were the only thing that seemed to accurately portray how much hurt he was feeling, how scared he was. Barbara met his eyes with her own concerned ones, then directed her look to Adam who greeted her with similar eyes. “Oh, my” she breathed, drawing a weak but confident smile on her face. “My brave boys,” she placed her free hand onto her husbands face, allowing him to lean into it.

She directed her attention to Beetlejuice, repeating the action and when he did not lean into her touch she pet the underneath of his eye with her thumb, as if to wipe away non existent tears. “Holding it together” she finally concluded, tears threatened to spill out of their eyes, until the dam finally broke in Barbara’s eyes. Tears flooded down her face, however she did not sob, she only smiled, at the two in front of her.

They had made it this far, and Lydia was strong. They could do this, she just wanted them to know, that it was ok to cry, that she was there, they were all there for each other and they were going to be there for Lydia. They would survive this. “Babs” Beetlejuice said, voice cracking and his breathing becoming more unheaven. Tears began to spill over his eyes, however, he did his damn best to fight every single one from falling.

Adam watched the two people in front of him, understanding his wife’s message loud and clear and watching the Demon who held them in this world, consistently using his magic to keep them from being teleported to Saturn, doing his damn best to hold himself together. Adam and Barbara had leaned on him for support more than they had given it, Adam pressed his chest against Beetlejuice’s side and wrapped his free arm around the two’s fronts.

Never once did Beetlejuice loses his grip on each respective Maitland's hand, at this point they had become his life line. Adam held his wife’s face, similar to how she held his moment prior and bent his arm so that the upper part rested against Beetlejuice’s face. They were an odd tangle of support, but it was effective nonetheless. Beetlejuice finally gave into the tears and the two Maitlands cried alongside him, their emotions finally catching up to them.

Beetlejuice breathed heavily, the most stable breath out of several, inhaling the two scents of the Maitlands as they continued to lean on him ever so slightly. They knew how to comfort him, they knew they could help him stay grounded by reminding him they were there through physical affection. Beetlejuice's breathing returned to an even pattern due to his attempt to fight back anything resembling sobbing, but still allowing himself to be vulnerable, he felt safe with the Maitlands, and that's all that mattered. 

They all felt useless and scared at that point and time, but they wouldn’t fall apart just yet, they wouldn’t let it happen. So they held each other for several moments until they were finally able to calm down and collect themselves. They still continued to lean into one another, however, never breaking contact in their enclosed corner of the waiting room, waiting for news about Lydia. 

Finally it came, Savannah found the three all squished together with puffy eyes. Her expression softened at the sight, it wasn’t an uncommon one to see in the waiting room at a hospital, but she was glad to deliver good news. “Lydia is just fine, they were able to remove her appendix and she will be fit as a fiddle in no time” Savannah said, not missing a beat, knowing how important every word was to the three infront of her. 

Savannah watched as they melted, tears crept in Adams eyes and Barbara held on tightly to Beetlejuice, shaking him a bit from excitement and relief. Beetlejuice had the most drastic change however, his shoulders and stressed posture deflated and he breathed out a breath he did not know he had been holding. The Maitlands and Savannah watched as the slick black hair that he had been sporting finally eased back into a green, it was still a darker shade, but it had returned some color nonetheless. 

This detail alone seemed to put the Maitlands more at ease. After all this, Beetlejuice has earned their trust, and so has his gut instincts, they would never doubt him again when it came to Lydia’s well being. Even if they still did not think Beetlejuice was the best at judging things, something inside him was, and they knew now to embrace it and him. 

“Can we see her?” Adam finally asked what they had been thinking. Savannah smiled and waved for them to stand and follow her. 

“Yes, of course, be quiet though, I will have to sneak you in, since some people can see you, like I can” Savannah explained. Beetlejuice eyes lit up, a familiar tone returning to his voice, it sounded more playful. 

“I can fix that” And with a sudden small flash of light Beetlejuice and the Maitlands were nowhere to be seen. “Where?” Savannah began to question but was soon answered by a raspy voice “Still here, just not visible” A small cackle escaped Beetlejuice. Barbara and Adam never thought they would be so glad to hear even just a little bit of Beetlejuice's mischievous tone and laugh. 

“Awesome!” Savannah said a little to loud, placing her hand over her mouth and apologising to the waiting room occupants nearby. She made her way to the room Lydia was staying in, it was not meant to have visitors other than immediate family, but who was going to stop two ghosts and a demon? 

“Here is her room, keep your voices low” Savannah instructed “I have to get back to work now, but I wanted to tell you that my mom took over as her doctor and that we contacted her parents, they should be here soon.” She smiled.

“Thank you so much, sweetheart.” Barbara said.

“Thank you” Adam and Beetlejuice echoed back, distracted by the prospect of getting to see Lydia again. They waved Savannah off and opened the hospital room door to see a peaceful Lydia sleeping in her bed. The dark aura Beetlejuice had seen around her had completely vanished, Beetlejuice felt like crying all over again, she was safe.

* * *

Nearly another hour passed before Charles and Delia finally made it to the hospital from their earlier departure. Charles practically broke the hospital room door down to the displeasure of the nurse who escorted them to the room. “Lydia” He said a bit too loudly, the same nurse looking back in displeasure as she walked away. He rushed to the bed only to stop in his tracks, Delia grabbing onto his arm from the surprise and abrupt stop.  


Lydia’s eyes fluttered open from the noise, he eyes dilated a bit as she processed the information they were receiving. There stood her father and stepmother, fear stricken, but soon their faces relaxed to those of relief. “Hi dad, Hi mom” She said softly, her hoarse voice attempting to come out smoothly. 

“We should have never left” Charles grabbed his daughter's hand, careful not to disrupt any of the devices the hospital had put on her. “We should have took you to the doctor,” He continued in a hurried pace. Delia began doing the same.

“We are her parents, why did we listen to you? You were fine,” Delia rambled, Lydia became a bit annoyed by the ‘don't listen to her’ part but she knew Delia and her father were just beating themselves up over what had happened. What had happened?

“I am fine” She hummed, sluggishly she rolled her head over to the side to look at the visitor seating in the room. There Beetlejuice sat completely knocked out, soft snores escaping him, while the Maitlands were at each of his sides. Their hands still interlocked with Beetlejuice’s as if he was their lifeline, in a very real way he was. Barbara had been the first to wake up and shes carefully shook Adam and the Deetz entered the room. 

They watched in silence as the two concerned parents reunited with their daughter. Charles stammered over her words a bit before finally giving up “I am so sorry, pumkin” he spit out before hugging his daughter as tightly as he could without causing her any unwanted strain. Delia did the same, wrapping her arms around the two, her forehead touching Lydia’s, tears at the corner of each eye. 

Once they stepped back to give Lydia breathing room, Lydia did her best to sit up. Delia had to adjust the hospital bed to help her do so without extra strain on her abdomen. Charles and Delia were given the run down both when they were contacted and when the arrived at the hospital, they were told Lydia’s appendix had ruptured and was having an appendectomy done. They were just relieved that something worse didn’t happen, the poor girl almost became roadkill just a month or so ago, there was honestly no telling with her track record.

Lydia was in her own head, similar to her parents. She glanced over at the three that had watched over her. “They’re here” She hummed softly. 

“Who dear?” Delia said before following Lydia’s eyes to Beetlejuice and the Maitlands. 

“I didn’t imagine it” A smile grew across Lydia’s face, it looked a little odd due to the hospital drugs and her lack of energy, but it brought joy to both her parent’s faces. Her face contorted into an odd look of confusion, all four of her parents became a bit worried.

“What's wrong Lydia?” Adam asked from the other side of the room. Lydia looked hardly at Beetlejuice and made a shushing noise. The four adults promptly shut up.

“Is he ok?” She asked, causing all the adults to let out a breath they had been holding.

“Yes, he is just tired dear.” Barbara supplied, “I believe it is because he is keeping us from on this plane of existence, rather than what normally happens when we leave the house.” She lifted the hand Beetlejuice still more or less had a death grip on, causing his arm to shake a bit. Barbara chuckled and looked at Beetlejuice with soft eyes, appreciative of all he had done in the high stress situations they just went through.

Lydia’s facial expression didn’t change, however. “No, not that” She answered, gaining confused looks from Adam and Barbara. “He snores way louder than that” she finally explained. All four adults choked on their own laughter before letting it escaped. Lydia was fine, of course she was, what were they expecting. These two, honestly. 

Lydia caught on soon after and laughed a bit herself, “I suppose he didn’t want to disturb you” Delia laughed out, petting Lydia’s messy hair. Lydia only rolled her eyes finding that hard to believe. The commotion however, did wake the one it was over. Beetlejuice startles himself awake, and looked around the room before literal stars lit up in his eyes. 

“LYDS!” He shouted and stood before being jerked back down to the seat by the unexpecting Maitlands. They had not foreseen his sudden burst of energy and did not travel with his momentum, causing him to return to his original starting point. He grumbled, but the Maitlands soon gave in walking over the side so he could greet Lydia. 

“Hey Beej” She smiled, not expecting Beetlejuice to hug her due to being tied up with the Maitlands. She could notice right away that he was currently in the living plane, she did it, she summoned him! She was so incredibly happy right now, so proud of herself, so at ease now that her entire family was here. This is how it was meant to be, her and her perfectly strange family, everything was ok as long as they were together. 

“Hey Scarecrow” Beetlejuice replied with a stupid shit eating grin plastered on his tired face. The Maitlands were the ones to tighten their grip on Beetlejuice’s hands this go around, they looked at the two best friends, proud of the two for making it through this entire mess. Charles and Delia hearts full of gratitude that their daughter was ok and gratitude for the Maitland’s and Beetlejuice’s quick thinking.

Beetlejuice seemed to be the most relieved however, he internally pondered if he would survive with as much stress this kid put him through. He didn't even think demons could keel over because of stress or have heart attacks, but he was sure he would find out of Lydia kept this up. 'Jeez kid, how did Emily ever manage to keep up with you?' he asked himself internally, laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloween Chapter is next!!!! It is going to have a nice little arc for Dani, so be excited for that!
> 
> Will do spell and grammar clean up soon!


	14. What could possibly go wrong?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia and Beetlejuice get into some trouble at the hospital. They make a new friend and help a family find closure, and Lydia finally puts her foot down and makes Beetlejuice spill his guts. Although, she didn't get all her questions answered, its a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys here is a heads up, Dani's arc isnt int his chapter.  
I accidentally got way off base when writing chapter 14 and it became this, but chapter 15 is where the big reveal is at!  
So read it next :D
> 
> I will fix spelling errors soon!

Lydia was recovering as expected and was allowed to return home a couple days later. The doctor wanting to keep her a day longer, due to her low iron count and dehydration. It wasn’t a big deal, but it was a precaution, and because the doctor happened to also be Shauna’s mother, she had heard a few stories about Lydia and dubbed the girl a bit reckless when it comes to her health. 

In the 3 ish days Lydia occupied that hospital room, her and Beetlejuice managed to get into plenty of trouble. Shauna’s Mother was proven right in Lydia’s reckless behavior as the girl did not stay in bed once she got her wits about her. Basically all hell broke loose once the Maitlands returned home. 

After the first night, Delia drove herself and the three supernatural members of her family home to gather needed supplies and allow Beetlejuice to have a break from keeping the Maitlands in the living plane. The Maitlands decided to stay in the home, as long as the had a way to communicate with Lydia and the Deetz. 

In response Delia had decided to leave her own phone behind with the Maitlands until they could purchase them their own. Delia had planned to at the hospital with Lydia for the most part anyway, so that Charles could attempt to work out the details of the meeting they suddenly couldn’t attend. 

Lydia and Beetlejuice on the other hand, has an absolute blast scaring the snot out of guests and even some patients at the hospital. They had standards of course, no deathly ill patients of grieving guests. But they did make the best of the situation, even getting some of the younger children at the hospital in on some of the pranks.

Beetlejuice loved being seen by everyone, especially the little ones who seemed to be awed by his bright hair and silky outfit. He had never been one for kids, but hey, they were growing on him. He met this one boy named Issac who was definitely not what they had expected when they first met hmm, he was bouncing with energy and life despite his reality. 

Beetlejuice and Lydia had dodged some nurses by going through the children’s ward and ran into Issac for the first time. Lydia managed to move out of the boys way quickly enough, BJ not so much. Beetlejuice did come to a stop as the small boy, no older than eleven ran into his leg. The boy was so small and fragile, when he fell on his backside from the impact, Beetlejuice was afraid he had broke him. 

“Yikes! Sorry there lil gremlin” he chuckled a bit, Lydia quickly went to help the boy up who only responded with laughter. 

“I am not a gremlin, you, you ogre man” The boy quickly added his own remark. Beetlejuice laughed. 

“Ogre?” He questioned, Lydia was trying not to laugh loudly, not to attract the nurses who were after them, but Issac soon picked up on it and went further into detail to gain more of a response as kids often do. 

“Yeah! Like Shrek, your green like shrek.” He cackled, looking up at Lydia for a response which he got as she held her hand over her mouth laughing. Lydia was loving this, this kid was great she had to add to the joke. 

“Yeah mr.ogre” she laughed “Get out of me swamp” she did her best shrek voice which caused the boy to laugh hysterically and Beetlejuice to just look even more confused.

“I don’t understand kids” he said under his breath. The three were quickly removed from their laughter as they heard footsteps and the familiar voices of the nurses they had been chasing them approach the area once more. 

“Crap” Lydia muttered. 

“Come on Lyds, lets duck out of her quick” Beetlejuice grabbed his best friends by the arm and attempted to navigate them both into a direction but were only emt with the sight of nurses who luckily had not spotted them.

Young Issac has picked up on what was going on, or sort of did. He thought they were playing hide and seek with the nurses. He grabbed Beetlejuice’s sleeve and tugged on it. 

“Wah?” Beetlejuice questioned and Lydia just nodded and gestures for him to look at the young boy who continued to pull them down an intersecting hallway, down another and into a small room. 

“We can hide here, they never come her unless they need stuff” Issac said voice full of energy and laughter despite his heavier breathing. 

“Thanks little man! I am Lydia by the way” she gave him a warm smile. 

“I’m Issac” he hummed in response, walking over to the window and looking down at people below the window. Lydia and Beetlejuice followed suit and noticed the people as well. 

“Nice to meet ya little man, call me BJ” Beetlejuice chuckled, glad that he could at least provide a nickname despite not being able to say his own name. Or well preferred name, seriously who names a demon Lawrence? Ugh off topic Beetlejuice, get back on track dude. 

“Oh boy, Lyds, little man, water balloons would be perfect to drop from this height, would they?” And every smirk grew across Beetlejuice's face. 

“ Oh!” Lydia responded eyes lighting up. She took a minute to catch her breath. She was feeling much better but was more fatigued than she normally was. The younger boy watched their expressions and quickly went to a nearby cabinet and retreated a small box and handed it to Lydia. “What’s this?” She asked, reading the box soon after. 

Beetlejuice did the same and both their eyes lit up. It was a box of gloves, like what nurses and doctors have to wear. They could fill these bad boys up with water, they were basically the next best thing to water balloons. Issac looked at the two with a big cheeky grin, knowing he did good. 

“Thanks Kid! Know where a sink or some water is” BJ cackled and got down to his level, ruffling his hair. Issac let out a laugh and led them down another hallows to a bathroom. The proceeded to feel all three of their arms full of tied up water gloves and returned to the room. 

Lydia laid down her pile of makeshift water balloons and attempted to open the window, however had no luck. Beetlejuice, snapped his fingers and the latch opened on command. Apparently the windows had been made to stay closed or at least not open as far in case one of the children in this old section of the hospital were able to get it open, more or less a way to prevent any unneeded tragedies. 

“Geronimo!” Issac shouted as he dropped a good armful of water filled gloves onto any and all who were near the windows drop range. Beetlejuice and Lydia followed suit. They didn’t know where this kid came from but he was awesome! 

They finished dropping their remaining water balloon/gloves until they were through the entire box. The ones getting hit or splashed shouted from the ground, very displeased at their newly soaked outfit or startled state. Beetlejuice was laughing so hard he help his midsection with his hand while he whipped a tear with the other. He floated back, knees bend and bobbed up and down a bit with each laugh. 

The young boy and Lydia laughed as well, however once Beetlejuice began floating it grabbed Issac’s attention almost immediately. “woah! How are you doing that?” He cried, placing his small hands on each side of his face as if to hold it still. 

Beetlejuice chuckled, “Imma magic man” he chuckled out. Lydia gave him and odd look but did remember Issac looked about ten year old and figured it was so he didn’t scare their new friend. I mean what would a small child think about a demon? He would probably be terrified if his parents had pounded any religious stuff into his head at all. 

“Oh! Do you grant wishes like a Genie?” Issac asked and Lydia and Beetlejuice could have sworn they saw starts in the boys eyes. 

“I ain’t a genie kid” Beetlejuice said scratching at his facial hair a bit awkwardly. 

“Aww” Issac entire body language just sagged, he pouted and honestly looked like a kicked puppy. Lydia gave Beetlejuice a hard elbow to the chest once she saw Issac’s mood worsens. 

“Asshole” she said under her breath through gritted teeth. Beetlejuice was the only one to hear what she had said. Beetlejuice made a ‘oof’ sound when he got hit and floated back a bit, placing a hand on his chest where he was hit. His ears pointed down and purple began to make his way into his hair as he stared at the young boy who looked at the ground sadly. 

“I can grant cha one wish tho” he finally grumbled out in his iconic raspy voice? BJ almost instantly felt better once he saw Issac's face light up once again. 

“Really?!” He cheated, clasping his little hands together and lacing his fingers. 

“Yeah, not something too crazy tho kid, my powers are pretty limited compared to the big blue guy in Aladdin” Beetlejuice supplies, Lydia had a look of pride when she heard the Disney reference. She was the one who had gotten Beetlejuice to watch that specific movie. 

“Ok! Can you..” Issac scratched his chin thinking really really hard. “Can you make my parents happy again?” He gave them a lopsided smile. “I really miss seeing them smile.” He said and Lydia’s heart almost melted on the spot, that was the sweetest thing she had ever heard. 

“I can do my best, kiddo. I ain’t real good at making people happy, but I guess I could try and get em to laugh or something” Beetlejuice stood again but was leaning on the back of his heels as he had one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he responded. 

“They are in the Cap- Chaa- Churchal? Uh whoever you say?” He giggled and grabbed Lydia by the sleeve and lead them to the small Chapel located on a nearby floor. They had to take the elevator and keep their eyes open for the nurses,but otherwise made it there just fine. 

Once they made it to the doorway they abruptly stopped and Issac peered into look at his parents, who they assumed was his mother was leaning on his father shoulder crying. He rubbed soft circles in his wife’s back, his own body shaking with grief. 

Lydia’s eyes grew big with realization. Was Issac? His parents were in a chapel crying, he wanted them to be happy again? There’s no way, is he? 

“I got really really sleepy and they couldn’t see me once I woke up, I don’t know why” Issac finally said looking up for his gaze toward his parents to Lydia. Seeing the mix of emotions in her eyes he quickly added, “I am not mad at them, I just want to see them happy again.” Lydia’s suspicion was just confirmed. 

How had she not noticed? Issac was a ghost. Beetlejuice was still watching the parents, his hair was shifting between purples and blues. Lydia honestly wished her hair could change color cause at least then she could have a visualization of all these confusing emotions she felt. She felt sad, and stupid for not noticing before. She hurt for the parents and hated that this poor boy passed away so early in life. But also, she felt pride in how much this young ghost still cared for his family and wanted them to be happy, this kid was honestly incredible. 

Lydia took a deep breath as she got down on her knees and hugged the young boy who only responded in giggles and hugged her back. Not completely understanding why he was being hugged but enjoying it nonetheless. 

“Issac you're the coolest kid I ever met” she gave him a fond smile, and he just beamed. 

“I am gonna go visit mommy and daddy for a minute ok” Issac said assuming the two would follow in their own time. He gave Lydia a quick hug and made his way over to his grieving parents. 

Beetlejuice had a hand over his mouth and his eyebrows furrowed into an expression implied he was thinking very hard but he honestly looked more distressed than anything due to the coloration of his hair. 

“Beej, are you ok?” Lydia asked, placing a hand on his arm, he looked down at her, only moving his hand slightly to reveal his mouth, it opened and closed like he was trying to say something but didn’t, his hand made a tighter hold on his face when his eyes widened ever so slightly as he met Lydia’s eyes. 

Beetlejuice’s thoughts were hitting him full force. This kid had died recently, he hadn’t even noticed and based of Lydia’s behavior she hadn’t either. He was even younger than Lydia, and Lydia did almost die. Sure they prevented it, it wasn’t set in stone like the Maitlands and probably Issac’s death was, but still. 

Those two parents could have been the Deetz and Maitlands, grieving the loss of their daughter. Beetlejuice still believed strongly that Lydia would move into the same realm as her mother is in currently and honestly he never gave himself a chance to process the feelings he had earlier when this all happened. The Maitlands did comfort him and they had their own moment they helped, but it never really hit him how it would have affected the rest of the world around him as well, he didn’t just care for Lydia anymore, he cared for the Maitlands, Charles, Delia, and even his new friends Dani and Shauna. He couldn’t stand the idea of them hurting like these two parents were if they lost Lydia, he couldn’t stand the idea of losing any of them. 

Lydia watched as Beetlejuice hair began to shift unnaturally to darker shade of purples and blues until it resembled an almost black. Blues and Purples still circulated in the void that became his hair, but the unexpected color made an uneasy feeling deep into her bones. 

“BJ?” she asked again attempting to get his attention after her first attempt did not work in the way she had intended. “Can you go in there? It’s a Chapel and your a demon, I mean-“ she cut herself off with a nervous chuckle trying to make light of everything. Beetlejuice’s zoned out look soon vanished as he gave his best friend a soft smile. 

“Of course I can go in there” he snorted out, acting like it was the most stupid question he had ever heard. Lydia only rolled her eyes and released a small chuckle. “I was just trying to figure out how I can grant that boys wish” he said half heartedly. Lydia knew he wasn’t thinking about that or at least not completely. Something else was bothering him, she would have to figure it out later because as BJ just said they had a wish to grant to their new friend. 

“Well, hmm” Lydia thought hard, “The Maitlands said something about Shauna’s sister seeing them right?” Lydia recalled a conversation she overheard between her parents and the Maitlands. However she was too out of it to remember which one had said it. Beetlejuice only nodded in agreement. His hair was slowly returning to more colorful tones of purple and blue and occasional streaks of green as time passed. Do this really wasn’t what they had been thinking of, because whatever it was a completely different topic than this or his mood would be worsening rather than improving. 

Damn, Lydia thought to herself, she is just gonna have to sit Beetlejuice down and get him to talk, she is getting tired of psychoanalyzing him like a freaking mood ring. “Is there a way we could get them to start seeing ghosts, or at the very least their son?” She asked the larger demon who was now leaning on the doorway. 

“We could scare them, I could use some supernatural type of stuff to ‘open their minds’ to it, but as upset as they are not quite sure it would work kid” Beetlejuice said but ended the statement looking over at the grieving parents and the small ghost boy trying to get their attention.

“Ugh I wish there was like,” Lydia paused “make them see, even if it’s temporary, or a message we could say was from Issac? Ya know?” Lydia was doing her best to figure something out. She had not realized in her frustration her volume had increased, the mother looked over at the doorway to see Lydia and Beetlejuice. 

“Issac?” She said in a soft voice before standing and walking to them. Beetlejuice and Lydia almost began panicking, she had heard them. “Did you know my baby?” She said softly, “I am Isabelle, Issac’s mother you can join us in here if you like” she said. Lydia guessed she thought they were talking about Issac in past tense, or had known him and wants to grieve as well or pay their condolences. Which wasn’t super off base. 

“Oh uh” Lydia said looking up at Beetlejuice for help and he only shrugged. They followed the woman back to the seats and they listened as she explained to her husband that they knew Issac. 

“Oh yeah, umm, I met him not too long ago, he” she chuckled a bit “helped us play some pranks” this caused Issacs parents to laugh aloud. They had figured Lydia may be a patient that was near by Issac before he passed because of the clothes she wore belonging to the hospital, they were just sweats but it was better than the open back gowns. 

“He always did get into trouble” his fathered smiled “thank you for spending time with him” he looked up at the large cross in the room and his eyes became red again as he held back tears but his smile did not once falter. 

Lydia leaned closer to Beetlejuice, not sure what to do with the silence. “I don’t know what to do BJ” she whispered. Beetlejuice places his hand on her head and pet her hair. 

“Neither do I kid,” he whispered back with a sigh, “I wish I could just forcefully open their eyes without the forceful part” he whispered along with a chuckle. “Kind of like how I figured out I could forcefully remove the Maitlands from their haunting parameters” his chuckle continued along with is quiet tone. 

“Wait,” Lydia paused an idea forming in her head, “How did you do that?” Beetlejuice scratched are his chin as he recalled what exactly he had done . Basically he had just pumped as much of his own magic into them as he could at a rate that wouldn’t exhaust him right away. He more or less made them an extension of himself by doing that, it was like an extreme form of possession minus the whole controlling the person thing. Basically he let them possess him, he gave them free access to his powers at the source. He figured out the best way he could explain this to Lydia. She nodded her head as she soaked up this information. 

“Could you do that with a living person? Could you give them some of your ‘juice’ and it open their eyes.” She asked, Beetlejuice’s posture changed and he leaned forward wracking his own brain trying to figure out if he could actually pull it off. 

“It’s worth a try? I mean, the worst that can happen is that I use up all my juice.” He said. Lydia looked at him a bit confused. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. 

“You breathers are super blind to your own spiritual energy, let alone another beings. That’s why breathers like you are super rare” he chuckled poking at Lydia’s shoulder, talking about the fact that she could see ghosts. “So time influence their ability with my own juice, oh boy.” He gave a half nervous chuckle but didn’t allow Lydia to even get another word in. "its probably gonna kick my butt" he supplied, a bit quieter, Beetlejuice was never one to actively admit his weaknesses. 

“Hey kid,” Beetlejuice whispered gesturing st Issac who walked over, “I’m gonna try something and if it works you will have a few minutes to make your wish happen.” Beetlejuice expresses his excitement through his hand gestures, spreading his fingers apart and widening his eyes and eyebrows. 

“Yay! Thank you Bj” Issac reached out and hugged Beetlejuice by the neck pulling him down some. Beetlejuice was not expecting the boy to latch onto him like that, so he made a bit of a commotion that caught Issac’s parents attention. 

“Excuse me sir are you alright?” Issac’s father asked. 

“Uh yeah yeah” Beetlejuice raised up tubing the back of his neck. Lord that kid is totally gonna give him a sore neck by pulling on him they hard. 

“Oh Sir” Issac’s mother leaned over her husband a bit to ask this next question “Forgive me but I was curious” she gestured to Beetlejuice’s attire. “Are you a type of clown?” She gave a half laugh, a bit embarrassed to even be asking this question. But in her defence, Beetlejuice was wearing an oversized striped suit with green hair.

“Huh, guess that's better than being called Shrek.” He laughed allowed and stood. Isabelle only looked at him with confusion and a half smile, “And yeah, I guess you could say that, though I am more of a magician.” A smile came across his face. He did his best not to show his overly sharp teeth as these were religious people, and he really didn’t want to fight that battle of excuses. “Can I show you a trick?” he finally asked.

Lydia was watching intently a bit surprised that Beetlejuice had managed to improvise this much and even ask for consent? It's just a ‘magic trick’ sure but still, way to go BJ, acting like an adult. She laughed internally. 

“Oh, hmm, I suppose” Isabelle looked her husband who only shrugged a bit, Beetlejuice walked around their seats and placed to firm hands on both their far shoulders. Both parents cringed a bit at the fact he had touched them and on closer inspection how dirty his hands were, they hoped this trick would be over soon. 

They felt an odd energy come from nowhere and travel up from the spot this man had placed his hands on their shoulder and it converged right behind their eyes, feeling similar to a migraine almost. Both parents instantaneously grabbed their eyes or bridges of their nose. Rubbing either those or their temples at different points. “What on earth” escaped this husbands mouth and the two slowly blinked as their vision refocused as the pain eased.

They almost shot out of their seats. Isabelle covered her mouth quickly as tears poured down her face. Her whole body shook, her husband wrapped his hand around her and followed her gaze to his own surprise. There stood their little boy, Issac, but how?

Beetlejuice, let out a breath and slowly removed his hands. He did his best to make the effects last as long as possible, but it really did a number on his own energy levels, even with being in the same plane as the two he supplied energy to. He grabbed onto the back of the seats that the parents had sat on and slowly lowered himself into the seats located behind them. Oh boy, he sure was gonna need a nap after this.

“Alex, is this real?” Isabelle asked her husband, He just shook his head frantically, he had no clue.

“Mommy, Daddy! You can see me again” Issac shouted as he ran into the embrace of his parents. The held him and cried into their ghostly sons clothes, a death grip on him as if he was their lifeline. Lydia placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder, getting his attention.

“Is he? Really here?” He asked Lydiam effectively getting his wife and Issac’s attention. 

“I am sorry, he isn't alive anymore” Lydia responded sadly. “But for a short amount of time, my friend over here” She gestured at a tuckered out BJ, who gave them a soft smile and a half heated wave. “Has given you the ability to see him, honestly I can't believe it actually worked” 

“Ye of little faith” Beetlejuice said, waving that same hand a bit more energetic due to the comedic effect he wanted it to have. He chuckled. Lydia rolled her eyes.

“Oh that's rich coming from you” She poked back verbally at him, he returned her eye roll. So what if he was a demon, he was sitting in a chapel creating miracles wasn’t he? He is basically a ghost zombie jesus, he should get a little credit. 

“So we have to say goodbye again?” Isabelle's voice broke, and tears continued to roll down her face as she fell onto her little boy. Alex, BJ, and Lydia all looked at her with sad eyes.

“Don't worry Mama, I get to go to my new home soon, I just wanted to see you smile before I left.” He said, cupping his mother's face and wiping away her tears. Beetlejuice's eyes widened, holy shit he thought. If “new home” was one of the afterlives and he was going to be taken there soon that means there is an angel of death on its way. He would have to leave shortly, he was not about to get tangled up in that mess, he already pissed them off once. That being the little stunt he pulled that got him on the run in the first place.

Isabelle gave her baby boy that smile he wanted and Alex hugged his son tightly, “You really are our sweet boy” he smiled and tears fell from his eyes. Lydia watched the family with a soft expression, tears falling from her own eyes, without her realizing. A large warm hand came out of nowhere and wiped at the tears going down her face.

Beetlejuice’s attention had returned from his thoughts and to Lydia, who was crying, damn it made his heart hurt. That thing still worked, yikes. He knew his hands were dirty but he wasn't really thinking when he began wiping the tears away, and apparently neither had Lydia, as she looked a bit surprised. Lydia grabbed his hand and slowly removed it from her face, mouthing the words ‘thank you’ as she stood and allowed Beetlejuice to raise up properly. He was still in the seats behind the ones they sat in, however had leaned forward to reach Lydia.

Lydia wasn’t sure what to do next when she felt her phone vibrate, it was Delia asking where she was. “I have the leave, now, but umm” she looked at Beetlejuice.

“The effects should last until little man is ready to leave, so looks like you two will get to meet an angel” Beetlejuice said, standing up as well with a chuckle. The family looked at him a bit confused until the little boys eyes widened. 

“Oh yeah, the nurse lady with all the silly tattoos, she was gonna take me to my new home” he explained to his parents. Alex and Isabelle looked between the two and Beetlejuice winked at them before him and Lydia made their departure.

* * *

As they walked out Lydia gave Beetlejuice a nudge with her arm to get his attention. “Angel? What was that about” As she reminded him, he picked up the pace a little. 

“Dont worry about it” Beetlejuice said quickly and he grabbed Lydia by the arm as a nurse walked by, Lydia had completely forgotten that they were still dodging nurses, who were still upset with their unruly behavior and them running all over the hospital. Beetlejuice’s grip slipped to her wrist and he continued to walk her down different hallways, well accept for the fact he wasn’t walking more like floating due to his hasty behavior. 

Lydia grabbed Beetlejuice’s wrist with her free hand and shifted the the hand he had a hold of so she could use both to pull on his arm. She planted her feet as firmly as she could while still wearing hospital socks with grips on the bottom. Beetlejuice floating helped Lydia bring both of them to a momentary stop as he had no traction of his own. His arm jerked the rest of his body back and he glared back at Lydia. “What are you doing?”

“I should be asking you that, you need to calm down and feel me in on a few details” Lydia finally spit out, readjusting her footing so she had a better chance of holding him in place if he tried to move again. Beetlejuice furrowed his brows at her, looking unhappy, Lydia kept her confidence and gave him a stubborn look back. She felt a little pride when the demon’s expression finally dropped as he gave in to her stubbornness.

“Kid” Beetlejuice grumbled, “It would be easier to just get back to the room, or heck home, home would be great” False cheer entered his voice, “Sure the Maitlands would love to have us back home” He said in the same tone until it fell a bit short at the end as Lydia just continued her glare.  
“Truth. Now.” She ordered, “I am your best friend right BJ” She gave him a sad look, and he could have sworn he had been stabbed with bad art all over again. “I know something is bothering you, I don't know if it has to do with Issac or what, but I want to know BJ, I want to listen and be there for you.” She laced her fingers through his. 

“Ok fine” He took his hand out of hers and crossed his arms. “I didn’t want to stick around and meet the Angel, and nooo, its not because I am a demon,” He rolled his eyes, not even letting Lydia make the statement herself. “Technically an Angel of Death is a demon to, they just got a fancy nickname that doesn’t scare breathers.”

Lydia grew more pissed off but calmed herself with a deep breath, this is not what she meant, but at least she was getting some answers. “Ok, so why are we running from them?” Beetlejuice looked at her annoyed, he out a hand in his messy hair and pulled at it a little in frustration.

“Your not the one runnin kid, I am” He grumbled, “remember on the run?” he said a bit of venom in his voice. Lydia did NOT appreciate his attitude but kept her mouth shut. “I pissed off a bunch of Demons of fate for trespassing, remember?” He grumbled after reading her expression.

“No I don't remember, because you don’t tell me anything you dumb ass!” Lydia finally snapped, “All you said was you were on the run and didn’t make a big deal about it, I didn’t know other demons were after you? Angels? Whatever!” It was her turn to cross her arms out of anger and frustration.

Beetlejuice grabbed at his hair with both hands this time, still floating and drawing his legs closer to his chest before lowering them again. He made a bunch of strangled noises as he grit his teeth, it was all out of frustration and the fact that him and Lydia were fighting right now and he was tired and just wanted a freaking nap!

Once BJ calmed down, Lydia relaxed a little and silence followed until Beetlejuice’s raspy voice finally broke it. “I’m sorry” He said in the most genuine way she had ever heard him say anything before, her anger broke, and her heart dropped from the words. 

“Beetle-” She began to say as she was interrupted.

“I am just angry, can’t I be angry?” He looked up at her, almost pleading. “You almost died scarecrow! I couldn’t do what I did with that family if that was you, I couldn’t stand seeing Barbara or Adam or Del or Chuck like that” He sunk a few inches closer to the ground “Kid, I-” He effectively lost his voice, as he went on his rant, it slowly lost its volume, and began cracking as he did his best to not get too emotional.

“But I didn’t BJ” Lydia placed a hand on his shoulder, “Plus like I said before, I would just haunt you guys until you went crazy like the Maitla-” she was cut off, despite her attempt to make light of the situation

“No! You wouldn’t” shouted, items around him, clip boards on doors, posters on the walls began to rattle or be moved by an unseen wind. Seemingly responding to Beetlejuice’s emotions similar to his hair. Lydia watched in horror as he continuously seeped into a darker and darker shade. She was used to purples and blues sure, but she really hated this color that just seemed to be the void of all light.

“And why not?” She said growing frustrated, it was like arguing with a brick wall with him.

“Because,” Beetlejuice took a deep breath and the invisible wind seemed to stop, he held himself in a sort of self hug in order to calm himself. “Your too good, your so much like your freaking mother that you wouldn’t have regrets that kept you here.” He breathed again “Kid, I know you! You wouldn’t be able to stay here, those same ‘angels’ would take you” to your mother, he wanted to say but couldn’t bring himself too. “And I couldn’t, I co-” his voice completely failed him.

He still couldn’t reveal to her what he had planned, no matter how much he wanted to. He was doing this all for her, he couldn’t tell her what he had been scheming, it was only days away, he just had to get her to just be ok and out of trouble for just a few more days. 

Lydia ran at him full force despite the little distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist and buried her face into his dirty coat and shirt. “I love you too, Jackass” She finally said, voice muffled. At the moment the dam broke, tears came running down Beetlejuice’s face and he grabbed a hold of Lydia and hugged her so tightly she had every intention of teasing him about almost causing her eyes to pop out later. 

Beetlejuice eventually crumpled to the ground, the two still wrapped into a hug and Beetlejuice soon found out he wasn’t the only crying as he felt her tears seeped through his hundred year old shirt despite its layer of dirt. She is so gonna yell at him for getting dirt all over her, he laughed internally, serves her right for making him talk about his emotions and crying and all this shit. 

His internal monologue was interrupted by the echo of her words, she really loved him, someone actually loved him. He can’t recall ever really being told that, in a meaningful way. He had been fooled with love so many times he thought it wasn’t actually possible, but here he was believing what she had said to him, full heartedly. And here he was, holding on to her, his scarecrow, his little sister. That's what she was, she was family, he had never felt like he had one, never could have what breathers had, what ghosts had, what his _ dad had _. But he did, with the Deetz and Maitlands, he knew he loved all of them, but it just felt real knowing that at least one of them for sure loved him back. 

The words Juno had said, meant nothing in this moment, and he felt like all the shit his mother put him through wasn’t limiting him anymore. Eventually the two calmed down and cracked a few jokes about being ugly criers. 

“Hey Lydia” Beetlejuice hummed, voice still hoarse. “Ya know your like an annoying little sister, right? Always poking yer nose in my business” he laughed out. Beetlejuice’s hair had returned to something closer to its normal color, the black hair nowhere in sight, all to Lydia’s relief.

“Oh! So thats how its gonna be bug boy!” Lydia raised her voice sarcastically with a laugh, “If that's the case, then your like an annoying and extremely gross older brother who needs to wash his damn clothes” She yanked at his coat a little and a cloud of dust fell off of it. They both laughed aloud. Getting some odd looks from those they walked passed. Once again silence fell between the two, but the mood was a lot lighter than it had been previously. Lydia internally rolled her eyes at how dramatic BJ made everything, but laughed because, honestly that was ok with her. She loved some drama, just not the petty kind. She did have a question weighing on her mind, however. She had not forgotten about Beetlejuice's comment about her mother. "Beej" She said before pausing giving him time to give her his attention. "You mentioned me being like my mom... You knew her?" She asked, confused. Beetlejuice had an obvious oh shit moment, eyes growing wide as he faced forward again and covered his mouth with his hand trying to think a way out of this mess. His hair reflected his mood, and the fact it had darkened again scared Lydia, she was already worn out emotionally, and he had to have been too. "Hey, Nevermind, we can talk about it later ok, but we **have** to talk. I am tired of not being told shit, ya know?" She looked up at him before he could ever come up with a response. "You know better than anyone what it's like to be invisible, I don't want things to be like that again." He stared at her wide eyes before relaxing a bit and giving her a warm smile. He hummed, a little pep entering his posture as he had an idea. She smiled as she watched his hair lighten. She still needed to ask what black hair meant, but it gave her a really really bad feeling, she knew she hated it. "Your Birthday is coming up soon right, Scarecrow?" He said with a big toothy grin plastered across his face. Lydia looked at him confused. What had he had planned? The childish part of her mind was excited and the other part was stressing out a little because her birthday was so close to her mother's death, she had almost completely forgotten until now, but the horrible feeling that she couldn't face this day still stuck with her. It had almost been an entire year since her mom's death, it really didn't feel real, or maybe it did, too real. "y-yeah" She said, still trying to sound happy despite her internal monologue. Beetlejuice didn't pay it much mind, he was still trying to figure out how he would phrase this. "Ask me whatever you want then, ok?" He patted her head. "That way I ain't gotta get you no fancy present, so win win" he cackled and she gave him a playful shove. "Oh? so you were actually going to get me one in the first place?" She laughed along side her best friend. 

* * *

Once the two finally made it back to the room they were greeted with the stern faces of Delia and Charles, which did not match the warm smiles they were on Beetlejuice and Lydia’s faces.

“And where have you two been?” Delia asked. 

“Just making new friends.” Lydia gave Delia a big smiled, and Delia was almost completely won over. The two trouble makers made their way back into the room, Lydia sitting on her bed and Beetlejuice standing near by, it was obvious his magic stunts were catching up to him and the whole emotional scene had him exhausted. 

Charles gave them his usual lecture about not getting into trouble and that they absolutely disobeyed him and that he was very disappointed. So basically, nothing new, Beetlejuice and Lydia didn’t pay it much mind, but Beetlejuice figured he would stand and Lydia wouldn’t get on her phone right away so they didn’t come off as rude.

Beetlejuice would regret his little respectful gesture as charles made a certain statement and action that rubbed him the wrong way. “And as for you” Charles put the focus on Beetlejuice, “Lydia has to rest, you running around and causing trouble isn’t going to cut it anymore” He said sternly.

“Aw, chuck my man, it's just a little fun” he gestured his arm up in a fist tiredly, “Ya know to raise morale or whatever” he chuckled and looked around the room a bit tiredly. Charles features remained unchanged and over all unimpressed. 

“I am sure” Charles said without any specific emotion “But, for know I think it is best if you returned to how you were before” He said, and before the words could sink in properly and Beetlejuice and Lydia could react three words came out of Charle’s mouth. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

Beetlejuice felt his heart drop as he felt the familiar shift between realities, he was returned to the plane in which ghosts inhabited, or well that fine little line he was usually stuck in, where ghosts could see him and most people aside from the Deetz couldn’t. He looked at Charles, mouth agape and then at Lydia who looked ready to commit straight homicide. He laughed internally a bit at that.

“What the hell” he half whispered, looking down at himself, his color had faded a bit, which was an overall sign of his exhaustion. This really freaking sucked, being exhausted and banished? He really needed nap. Then it hit him. How did Charles know how to banish him? He thought back hard.

In the ambulance, with Savannah. She had almost accidentally banished him and he more or less implied what saying his name again would have done. She wouldn’t have told him, honestly she wouldn’t have known to or not to tell them. That left the Maitlands to blame, of course they talked and felt the Deetz in on the situation. And after all he had done for them?!

Beetlejuice’s hair shifted to a mix between red and orange as he visibly gritted his teeth in frustration. Charles held firm and Delia looked on a bit concerned. Lydia’s expression basically matched Beetlejuice’s, she was just as pissed, her dad had no right to do that to him. 

“You asshole!” She shouted at her father and he glared at her, and Beetlejuice snapped out of his anger as he saw hurt come across Charles and Delia’s face as Lydia insulted them. He took a deep breath and the color of his hair shifted to cooler ones, and his loud breath caught the attention of all the Deetz.

“Cool it Kid” He breathed out again. “It ain’t worth it right now, plus their yer parents, I don’t completely blame them, that blame belong to someone else” red flared in his eyes a bit but the rest of his coloration remained cool. Lydia was too mad to think about who he was talking about but, she crossed her arms and made a huffing noise and she pulled the bed cover over her and laid on her side facing Beetlejuice’s direction.

“Thank you Beetlejuice” Charles said as Delia walked in behind him and held onto his shoulder, halfway hidden with a soft appreciative smile on her face. 

“Its whatever” he grumbled “Too tired anyway, think I am gonna go to the roof and grab some fresh air.” He began to float but faltered a bit and returned to the ground, only looking up to see the concerned looks of the Deetz. “Mmm fine” he grumbled out scratching at his head and floating again. However this time when he returned to the ground it was from Lydia raising up and grabbing his wrist.

“Stay” she paused “please” and Beetlejuice slipped his hand from her grasp and patted her on the head. 

“Or” he hummed “I guess I can just doze off in these uncomfortable chairs over here” he chuckled and he got a laugh from Lydia who watched him make his way to the guest chair and deflate as he let his body relax and effectively stop defying gravity. 

The night continued with few words, Lydia and Beetlejuice went on to sleep, not feeling the need to tell Delia or Charles about their day, not like they deserved to know. Lydia was still bent out of shape about it, but was very proud of how BJ handled it and didn’t blame him for actually wanted to avoid conflict, he did look exhausted.

* * *

The night passed quickly and that following day Lydia got to be discharged, and oh boy were the nurses glad to see her and wherever her crazy older brother in the striped suit went, gone. No more craziness to deal with. Lydia fell asleep on the car ride home and Charles carried her in.

Delia was the one to open the door to the house for her husband and step daughter. They were quickly greeted by two over thrilled ghosts who had been waiting for their goddaughters return.  
Delia placed a finger over her lips and softly shushed them.

“Shh, she is very tired, we want to let her get a little more rest” She smiled at the two who hugged her as she made her way into the house. They stepped out of the way for Charles who was still carrying Lydia. He gave them a smile and continued up the stairs to put Lydia in her own bed.  


The Maitlands were a bit saddened by the fact that Lydia was asleep and they wouldn’t get to talk to her, but the were certain Beetlejuice would fill them in on whatever exciting things happened or funny jokes. They waited for him to enter, his head was a bit lower than usual and his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Hey there Bj” Adam hummed, clasping his hands together. Beetlejuice only gave a disinterested grunt in response. His expression deflated and he looked over at his wife who took charge and stepped in front of the demon.

“What’s wrong? Your usually way more energetic than this…” She said watching as Beetlejuice raised his head and just glared at her. She stepped a little closer and so did Adam. They had just had a bonding moment not too long ago, surely he would be open with them? Had something happened between him and Lydia? They became a bit more panicked but refused to openly show it. 

Beetlejuice attempted to move to the side and continue his path, be it a bit off course. He had an annoyed look on his face, and the strangest part yet was his hair was normal. It wasn't reflecting any change in mood. Adam and Barbara lost their crunch when it came to figuring out Beetlejuice's emotions. Did it have something to do with the new color? Something was definitely up with BJ, they concluded. Barbara quickly moved in front of Beetlejuice once more despite his obvious annoyance. 

“Move.” Beetlejuice glared at her, floating a few inches above the two’s height. He didn’t make much of an effort to move himself again Was he trying to intimidate them? Well Barbara wasn’t having any of that.

“There is no reason to be rude! What has-” She began and was quickly cut off by an animalistic growl that erupted. She practically swallowed her own tongue how quickly she shut up. Adam and Barbara felt an uneasy chill creep down their ghostly spines. She looked directly up into Beetlejuice eyes, they had an odd green glow to them that radiated despite the light in the room. 

Adam shifted uncomfortably behind his wife, and Beetlejuice just let out an annoyed huff through his nose and floated down before placing his feet on the ground. He walked passed Adam’s side of the spot the couple was taking up and their shoulders collided, pushing Adam back a bit, startling him. 

What was with this sudden aggression? They watched in shock and confused as Beetlejuice walked up the stairs, his hands never once leaving his pockets and his posture still being very deflated and angry. They watched him enter the attic, which they figured he was actually just going to the roof which was his brooding spot, but either way they were kind of scared.

“What was that about?” Adam asked allowed, looking back at his wife.

“Did he growl at me?” She asked herself, taken aback. “What the hell” She whispered under her breath, their gazes met each other and followed back to the attic door.

** To Be Continued **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy dramatic much BJ? Haha with good reason I guess. 
> 
> Chapter 15 is already up! Keep reading my friends! <3


	15. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys this chapter is really freaking long, so grab you a snack and cuddle up in a blanket to read it haha!  
\---  
Beetlejuice and the Maitland's issues escalate into something that neither side is proud of. Beetlejuice is repeatedly comforted by his angst teenaged friends. Halloween shenanigans ensue and Beetlejuice gets the chance to be there for one of his friends in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written over a multiple day time span, so it may be a bit choppy and I promise there will be mistakes, give me time to correct them and just enjoy this hot mess!

A few moments passed and Adam and Barbara finally found their words. “What the actual hell was that?” Barbara asked her husband, who just gave her a look equally as confused by his behavior.

“Why is he mad at us?” She once again stated, growing more and more frustrated. Adam put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a sad look.

“I don’t know Barbara, I really” he took a deep breath “really thought we were friends now”, he rubbed his thumb on the cloth of her shirt where his hand was. “But we shouldn’t blow this out of proportion without talking to him first”

“I” Barbara breathed, had she actually gotten that upset over this? She kind of felt like crying, probably just hormones she internally thought. Wait do ghosts even have hormones anymore, ugh whatever guess she can’t use that excuse anymore. She had to face the fact that actually cared for Beetlejuice a bit more than she first realized. “I agree, but do we talk to him now or ?”

Adam thought to himself for a minute before coming up with an answer, “I vote now, he has to use his words rather than whatever the heck that was” he used his hand to gesture to where Beetlejuice once stood. 

They couple made their way to the attic to find the window leading to the roof partially open. They both let out a sigh of relief as at least something Beetlejuice had done was a bit predictable. The roof was his spot, just as the attic was theirs. 

Beetlejuice was sitting in his usual spot, he glanced up as they made their way through the window. He huffed once again and made it to his feet, staring at the two. Appearing very annoyed that they followed him. 

“Beetlejuice, what was that about?” Adam asked, being his turn to take charge. Beetlejuice just stared at them, eyebrows furrowed and his lips moved ever so slightly from him biting the inner part of his cheek. Adam thought this might be progress, Barbara on the other hand got the same feeling one might have before an animal flees from danger. 

“I am sorry” Barbara finally said, Adam and Beetlejuice both looked at her with wide eyes, mostly due to her stubborn nature that they were used to, “we’re both sorry” she said again and gestures to her husband who turned his gaze to Beetlejuice, a soft look coming across his features. 

Beetlejuice looks at them quizzically, his distrust was more than obvious. Barbara took a deep breath before finishing what was on the tip of her tongue. “But we don’t know what for.” She was able to walk close enough to Beetlejuice to reach him, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “You have to talk to us, dear… We want to make whatever this is right.” She said giving him the benefit of a doubt, they really hoped they had not upset him without knowing but communication was a necessity.

Beetlejuice gave them a mixed look, his hair began shifting between colors, blues and purples slowly making themselves into his color scheme, Adam smiled as it appeared they were making progress, however as the color red made its way into the scheme, and Beetlejuice’s face contorted back to something that resembled anger. It became obvious that he was biting his tongue, he was angry and wanted to make that known, but he just didn’t? 

“What?” Adam said as Beetlejuice jerked back from Barbara touch. Barbara only starred with her mouth open before she found her words. 

“You are going to have to talk to us!” Barbara’s anger finally got the best of her. “You can’t just give us the silent treatment, you have to use your words” she said her tone sounding less confident and more frantic than before. 

“It’s not fair to us,” Adam added, placing a hand over Barbara’s that was originally the one he used to reach out to Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice opened and closed his mouth before he finally spoke to the two.

“Fair?!” He said harshly, no longer holding back his words or tone, “I am the one not being fair-” His tone shifted into something of a laugh, apparently finding that confusion was legitimate hilarious. “Oh ho oh” He laughed out harshly, “You two just had to opened your big mouths huh?” he grumbled out.

Beetlejuice had been referencing the fact that they had went behind his back and told the Deetz how to get rid of him. Well not get rid of per say, but banish him back to the same plane as ghosts, making him practically useless. Sure he could still do many things, he even managed to save Lydia when she was almost hit by a car, but if it had been anything worse than that? Or if he had used up all his juice before then? He didn’t even want to think about it.

Ultimately Beetlejuice felt betrayed by the two he cared so much for. He would have understood, for the most part at least if they wanted to return him to the plane of the dead, but they could have asked him or told him or _ warned him _. God/Satan he hated the feeling of being banished and it only made it worse when he wasn’t expecting it. 

Adam and Barbara just stood in confusion, shifting backwards a little at the sudden hostility and him finally speaking to them rather than ordering them around or growling. Beetlejuice’s breathing was hard, it was clear he was angry and they anticipated him to blow up like he had done when they first met, but were surprised to see him take a deep breath and open and close his fists as the bright red faded ever so slightly from his hair.

“I don’t have to deal with this bull shit right now” Beetlejuice said under his breath before turning and walking to the edge of the roof.

“Wait!” Adam and Barbara yelled, almost in unison. They subled over their own feet as they watched Beetlejuice walk off the edge of the roof, completely forgetting the demon could float. They peered over the side to no see the demon on the ground by rather saw the tail end of his coat phasing through the side of the house. 

Had he really wanted to get away from them so badly he wouldn’t just walk by them to go in through the window? Or was he just being his normal extra dramatic self? Barbara leaned back up from looking down and plopped onto the roof, the end of her dress covering her legs and taking a circular form on the surface she sat on.

Adam sat down next to her and dangled his legs off the side of the roof, staring at the sky and watching the clouds go by. Barbara however, continued to stare at the roofing. “Well shit” Barbara said under her breath, Adam couldn’t help but chuckle at his wife profanity, but at the same time felt exactly the same way.

* * *

For the next couple of days Beetlejuice treated the Maitlands as if they didn’t exist, the most recognition they got was when he would walk around them or leave a room once they entered it. In all honesty it was both disheartening and frustration. 

However, they would catch him off guard, especially when he was around Lydia. They could actively have a conversation with Lydia and he would acknowledge them partially, body language and his gaze would meet theirs, but he wouldn’t speak to them, or answer their questions. Lydia, however, he wouldn’t skip a beat to reply back to her. It was frustrating, but it gave them an idea.

The following morning, the Maitlands prepared breakfast as usual, it was a Thursday morning and Lydia was extra alive this morning it seemed, mostly because it was finally halloween. Lydia’s favorite holiday of all time, which surprised now one, but just added to her personality. 

Beetlejuice had joined her as usual, taking advantage of the extra pancakes they had made. Lydia was talking about her plans for the day, since it was just a half day at school she had plenty of time to finish her costume and meet up with Shauna and Dani. 

“We are gonna be the classic movie monsters, although kind of bummed I got stuck with wolfman” Lydia said, shoving her face with a mouthful of pancake. “I thought I would make a really good dracula, but Dani’s got this.” She added, talking with her mouth still full. 

Adam and Barbara sat at the opposite end of the table, as they learned they could get Beetlejuice’s attention through Lydia, they would take full advantage of it. “Oh I am sure your costume will be lovely either way” Barbara said, a warm smile on her face.

“So, what about Shauna?” Adam asked, Lydia half rolled her eyes when she recalled the memory of when they chose the characters they would be.

“Oh she just absolutely had to have Frankenstein, she really wanted to do something with her hair and full body makeup, me and Dani really didn’t have a say in the matter” She laughed and Beetlejuice did as well, though he still hadn’t said anything and just continued to eat his own stack of pancakes. 

The conversation continued for a bit more in detail about the different parties and events that were going on that day and weekend as well as what neighborhoods they planned to visit. Never too old to go trick or treating, Beetlejuice was like super old and he was going. 

“So Lydia, with it being Halloween it's almost your birthday right?” Adam chimed in as the conversation began to die down. 

“Haha almost, why?” She laughed, covering her mouth so the food she was still eating would fall out or she wouldn't spit everywhere. 

“We were wondering if we could get any hints about what you would like” Barbara supplied, and Lydia only laughed in response.

“You guys don’t have to get me anything, I am already getting all this candy on my birthday so” Lydia replied which only confused Beetlejuice. He quickly swallowed the food he had in his mouth.

“I thought your Birthday was tomorrow?” He said, internally panicking, shit he thought, he screwed this date up, did he screw the other day up to? Lydia only laughed.

“Yes and no, I was born after midnight, so, technically my birthday is November 1st, but Mom always celebrated both today and tomorrow like they were my birthday. Which was great” She said as a warm look grew across her face as she remembered her mother. Emily was definitely something else, always made the most mundane things unique.

The three adults watched her in silence, Lydia grew a little uncomfortable so she thought she would ask her own question. “On the topic of Birthdays, what about you BJ? I don't think I know when yours is…” she asked.

“Aint got one kid” He laughed out, taking another bite of the pancakes. Damn they were good pancakes, almost made him stop being mad at the maitlands, honestly it was the only reason he hadn’t walked out of the kitchen yet, that and Lydia was talking to him.

“What?” Both Lydia and the Maitland’s sounded off, very confused. Beetlejucie chuckled, not looking at the Maitlands and instead at Lydia.

“When you grow up in the pits of hell, you don’t really know when you popped out of your parent, and Juno never bothered to tell me so.” He shrugged, acting as if it was the most normal thing ever, which only increased Lydia’s curiosity.

“Is it like that for all demons?” She asked. Beetlejuice gave her a smile, he had no issue talking with Lydia about these things, it was mostly the really emotional stuff he struggled with but they had made quite a bit of progress ever since that day in the hospital.

“It was for the ones I knew” He looked at his plate as he recounted his childhood, “Where I hung out as a kid we didn’t really know much about ourselves, heck I didn’t know my name for the first few hundred years I existed?” He looked back up with a laugh. He scratched at his chin a bit with the fork he held in his hand.

“Thats” Adam said and paused “Really freaking sad.” He said, looking at Beetlejuice who actually met his gaze. Beetlejuice shifted uncomfortably, but didn’t respond. It wasn’t sad! What did he feel ashamed all of a sudden, Adam just needs to keep his mouth shut, Beetlejuice thought internally. 

“Brutal” Lydia said simply, he had heard her say it a few times in front of her friends, he would rather have that response instead of whatever ‘deep’ conversations Adam acted like he was ready to have about it. 

“It's nothing to harp over, jeez” He said, half way addressing Adam, but trying to lean his attention more towards Lydia’s statement then his. “It's just how things were until the big shots figured out I was Juno’s kid, and shit went downhill from there” Lydia only nodded, seemingly knowing part of this story already. 

Barbara looked at Adam, they were concerned and really hoping Beetlejucie would elaborate on what he had meant. “Right, her” Barbara said, venom in her tone. 

“She was pretty scary” Lydia agreed, “But not as scary as that sandworm” She added and both her and Beetlejuice burst out laughing as recalled the face Juno made when she was chewed up by that sandworm. “Oh, I really wish Adam didn’t throw the leg out, would have been a great Halloween prop” she continued, Adam and Barbara’s face contorted in disgust while the other too just continued laughing.

“Well, while we are on the topic of demons” Adam leaned back a bit, clearly this was a stretch even coming from him. Lydia and Beetlejuice held by an eye roll, ‘this is gonna be good’ ran through both their minds as they watched Barbara look at Adam a bit warily. “Is it a common thing for them to suddenly stop talking to you after you thoughttheywereyourfriendnowandyoudontknowwhy?!” His pace suddenly picked up and Lydia and Barbara leaned back a bit for Adam’s direction in response to the sudden outburst. 

There is was. Beetlejuice bit his tongue to keep his temper at bay. He has every right to be mad at them, but for whatever reason he still cared about them and didn’t want his temper to get out of hand. He was trying to avoid conflict by avoiding them, but he couldn’t just avoid his anger. If they had just kept their mouth shut about about his summons also being a form of banishment.

“Uh, I do not know how to respond to that” Lydia said looking at Beetlejuice through the side of vision and taking another bite of what was left of her breakfast 

“We don’t want you to respond, we want him to” Barbara added, regaining her posture and showing her normal confidence. She directed the last part of her statement at Beetlejuice, who only glared angrily at the two before returning to his food. He played with it a bit, moving it around with the fork, stacking the pieces of uneaten pancakes on top of the other.

“Well, since Lydia is the only one he will seemingly speak to,” Barbara breathed harshly, trying not to take her frustration out on Lydia. “Would you, Lydia dear, please ask him?” she laced her fingers together.

“Christ, Beej, what did you do to get them this heated at you?” Lydia asked, ignoring their request and only asking her own questions. Both Adam and Barbara huffed in response. Beetlejuice only shrugged. Barbara only continued to stare at Lydia until she finally asked what they wanted her to, “BJ you can’t ignore them forever,” she sighed, “They are clearly upset about being treated as if their invisible to you.”

That hit the mark, Lydia watched as Beetlejuice cringed a bit. The word invisible was something very strong for both Lydia and Beetlejuice, they knew it well, and hated it. Beetlejuice let out a breath that was a little shakier than he wanted it to be. “Fine” He grumbled under his breath.

Adam and Barbara’s faces lit up, “Finally” Adam said, cheerfully, his tone was full of relief. “I thought I was going to go crazy if I didn’t hear you talk.” He said, leaning his face into the palm of his hand. Lydia looked at his quizzically.

“I think you already went crazy if you like the sound of Beetlejuice’s voice” She poked fun, laughing. Beetlejuice couldn’t help but chuckle and tilted his head towards her trying to give her a serious stare, and failing. 

Lydia looked at her phone absentmindedly, seeing the time she panicked a bit. “Shit! I gotta get to school!” She stuffed the rest of her food in her mouth and grabbed her stuff and began to make her way towards the door. “By love you guys! See you around lunch!” She said existing the house.

Barbara attempted to repamend her language, but Lydia had left the house in too much of a hurry. She would just have to get after her about it when she got home, the good news was that it was just a half day. Right now she had more pressing matters to attend. 

Beetlejuice waved her bye, but it went mostly unnoticed. Maybe it was for the best she went on to school, because this conversation was gonna suck major ass.

“Can we please talk now?” Barbara leaned over the table, hands still laced together. Eager to learn what was going on between them and Beetlejuice.

“I guess” Beetlejucie grumbled.

“More than that.” Barbara added trying to be patient “What is wrong?”

“Wrong?” He hissed, taking a breath to control his sudden rise in temperment. “I thought we were doing great,” he said, Barbara and Adam looked at each other and then back to him to finish “getting along, being all emotional or whatever” he looked down at his plate “But then everything just goes out the window.” He paused long enough for Adam and Barbara to become worried. 

“What do you mean?” Adam asked. Beetlejuice’s anger only grew.

“When you opened your big mouths about how to banish me! Make me invisible again!” Beetlejuice yelled, before adding in a softer tone “Useless again…” He had stood and leaned over the table, one hand 

“That's what this is about,” Adam said in a small voice. “You have ignored us for days because we told Charles and Delia how to keep you from causing chaos?” His tone got a bit higher, it was clear that Adam was too pleased at the reasoning. Barbara’s face grew red from anger as well.

“From causing chaos?! The only thing you kept me from doing is protecting Lyds!” He shouted, his temper clear as day in his red hair and the coloration of his tie and outfit, which slowly crept into a more red hue. 

Barbara and Adam stared at him a bit in shock, but Barbara was still feeding off the anger in the room. “She needed to rest and we couldn’t get kicked out of the hospital if she still needed care.” Barbara said, fuming. “And when?! When has being summoned or not ever stopped you from helping Lydia?” She shouted, attempting to debunk his claim.

Beetlejuice made a strange noise as he bit back a yell of frustration and grabbed his hair, pulling at it and he closed his eyes tightly. “You don’t get it!” He yelled, eyes still closed

“Your right we don’t!” Adam said, returning to the screaming match. Beetlejuice’s eyes snapped open at this. Red had crept into their correlation as well, however they did not radiate the same way his eyes did when they were green and he was angry.

“You know what!” Beetlejuice stared and them and grabbed his fork and stabbed his pancakes, “I am not dealing with this right now!” He shouted before stuffing the pancakes in his mouth and flipping them off with his free hand. As he dropped the fork on the table freeing his other hand, he mimicked the action of flipping them the bird as he walked backwards out of the kitchen. 

Barbara and Adam only stared shocked at the sudden childish behavior, although they couldn’t say they were surprised. The followed him as they watched as he floated through the ceiling, to their guess, the roof. Both forgetting the could do they same and the fact they still were not the best at floating up, taking the normal route to the roof.

* * *

Beetlejuice stood at the edge of the roof, looking down when the Maitlands finally made it to the roof. He turned his attention to them, they quickly decided to restart this conversation before he pulled the same stunt he did earlier in the week.

“Can you stop asking like such a damn child!” Barbara shouted, effectively getting Beetlejuice attention. He had finished the pancakes he stuffed in his mouth and licked some syrup off his lips before glaring at Barbara. 

“Don’t feel like it” He retorted, venom in his tone. He teetered on the back of his heels, defying gravity as he usually did.

“Of course” Barbara grumbled, rolling her eyes. “We thought telling Delia and Charles would be for the best.” She said, finally getting back on topic.

“You can get out of hand at times, you can’t blame us entirely.” Adam added, voice a little smaller than it had been moments before.

“That doesn’t make it ok!” Beetlejuice finally admitted, “I get that I can be a pain, it's usually my goal” he paused chuckling a bit despite his obvious anger. “But I- I” he paused as he formed the word he never thought he would “Trusted you two, not to make me feel invisible.” His voice slowly got lower.

Adam faces contorted as he realized the harm they had done. “Beetle-” But Barbara continued, “Trust?!” She breathed sharply, “Trust goes both ways Beetlejuice! If you would actually act responsible for like two seconds and use your brain you would have realized that running around a hospital, causing havoc, people seeing you, especially doing things that defy reality, wasn't ok!” She said echoing off his own statement. “If we can’t trust you to not act- act like a” She searched for a word other than child, but Beetlejuice beat her to the punch.

“Like a demon?” During this entire rant, Beetlejuice’s face became dark, and his posture slouched. Adam internally panicked, was Beetlejuice shutting them off? His tone was cold and cut through the two of them like a blade. His eyes had a strange fire to them. “So trust only goes both ways when it comes to ghosts and breathers, not demons?” He asked venom in his voice.

“That's not what I meant and you know it!” Barbara began, “But you know what, sure! Your big and proud to be a demon right?” She added venom in her tone, Beetlejuice only gave her an emotionless stare. “You tell us almost every freaking day, and can you blame us? How are we supposed to know how to treat you or what you do means?” She supplied. Adam tried to get her attention, placing a hand on her shoulder but she only shook his hand away.

“Barbara don’t, everyone needs to take a breath” He said is a low voice, Barbara only glared at him as she stepped closer to Beetlejuice. 

“The only other demon we have met is Juno and honestly based off your past behavior your not too diff-” Barbara began but was cut off by a sudden feeling of overwhelming dread and heat, despite the fact that time seemed to freeze around them.

**“DON’T”** Beetlejuice voice was deep and it echoed despite the open space around them. Beetlejucie’s face contorted in anger as he stared at the two, Adam had wrapped his arms around his wife, is a seemingly half shield. Beetlejuice walked closer to the two and they noticed the heat was radiating off of him. There was a smell of something burning in the air, it was the roofing, wherever he stood, burning and melting under his feet, as if the meer touch of him was the same temperature as the sun. 

Beetlejuice looked the two up and down before addressing them in a cold and angry tone. “Your right, I am a demon” He breathed “I am proud to be one too, but you know” A growl was rumbling in his chest, he didn’t seem to notice. “A demon is what I am, Not ** who I am**.” He finished. Adam and Barbara took a couple steps back, still latched onto one another. 

“But does that even matter?!” Beetlejuice asked them, sounding a bit hysterical. He waited a moment for them to respond but continued when he was met with silence, “You breathers never got over that whole demons are these monstrous, evil things did you?!” This time the question wasn’t completely directed at them. His held his arms up, bent at the elbows as he turned his head to the side looking up, before his radiating eyes snapped back to the direction of the Maitlands.

Beetlejuice only laughed, but it made Barbara and Adam want to hide. Beetlejuice observed them cower ever so slightly, despite their best attempt to look big and confident compared to him. He rolled his head forward, not moving his gaze even a bit from the maitlands. He began to approach them 

**“I am just a big scary”** the roofing sizzled under his footsteps as he got loser, he had lowered his arms ever so slightly, curling his fingers as if he was going to grab the couple. The growling in his chest was ringing in their ears now, but Beetlejuice’s voice continued to echo over it. **“Demon to you two.”** He stared down at them as they subconsciously leaned back, mostly from the heat they felt radiating off of him. 

Beetlejucie looked down at his hands, red was making its way from the tips of his fingers to his knuckles and down his fingers. The Maitlands followed his gaze, they watched in horror as he fingers morphed into extended claws, a dark red that matched his angry hue. **“Your right Barbara”** the tone was cold, she shivered as he said it. **“I guess I can’t blame you two,”** The tone morphed into something more sad almost breaking the echo but quickly picked back up **“If I was a ghost living with a demon”** His eyes flashed **“I wouldn’t trust me either”. **

The maitlands closed their eyes, waiting for what had no clue, but they were only able to bring themselves to open them when time elapsed and the heat slowly faded away from them. Once they mustered up the courage to reopen them they saw Beetlejuice had returned to the edge of the roof. He was staring at a small flame he held in his hand, almost as soon as they saw it their eyes burned just like they had went they looked directly up at the sun when they were alive. It wasn’t unbearable due to the lack of brightness, but the heat was still there. 

**“Luck for you”** He said, the echo finally fading from his voice. “I don’t need your trust, I have Lydia’s.” He breathed, his expression turned soft. “I just hate I was stupid enough to believe you two cared enough about _some demon like me._” his eyes were full of sadness, Adam and Barbara wanted to immediately hugged him but the fear and heat prevented them from doing so. They had never felt anything like this before, not even all those months ago. Was this because they had hurt him so much, by violating his trust?

Beetlejuie closed his hand that the flame rested in, it was small and still illuminated his fist ever so slightly. He turned away from the two as floated down to the ground, this time not returning to the house, rather making his way off the property. Scorched footprints disappearing from the grass as he began to float through the thick treas off the side of the property at the bottom of the hill. Seemingly the only place he could be invisible during the day to the only people that could see him.

* * *

Beetlejuice had been wandering around for a little while, floating aimlessly in the shade of the trees around him. He had calmed down a bit, but was still really upset about the whole situation. Ugh! He felt so stupid, he kicked at a tree which only made him more frustrated when his foot phased through it. Maybe summoning hell fire, even if it was on accident, wasn’t such a good idea.

A growl rumbled through his chest and throat, surrounding the empty air of the forest before he finally stumbled into a graveyard. It was the one that Lydia always passed on her way home. At least it was familiar. He walked over to the joined tombstone of Adam and Barbara Maitland. He leaned against the headstone before sliding down to the ground, sitting with one stretched out and the other bent with his arm resting on it.

“God/Satan I am so stupid” He grumbled, misery clear in his voice. “Of course they’re scared of me. Why wouldn’t they be after the show I just put on.” He continued allowed, he rubbed roughly at the underneath of his eye to keep himself from shedding any tears over the matter.

It eventually lead to him holding his face in both hands and pulling down at his eyes as he breathed out heavily. ‘Stupid Stupid Stupid’ he repeated internally. His attention was finally changed to something else as he saw his breath, he was able to distract his mind every so slightly thanks to the cold. Cold? He glanced down at the hand that was just on his face, remembering he had let the flame extinguish several minutes ago before he even touched his face.

Not that it would have done anything to him, demons were immune to hell fire for the most part. He rolled his eyes, man, he really was an idiot. Everyone, Lydia, Chuck, Del, even both Adam and Barbara had been helping him communicate better with them and he just screwed it all up. His hair shifted from a dark purple to something resembling the same depressing black he sported a few days prior.

Maybe his mom was right, he really was cursed. Cursed to be alone and without anyone who actually gave a shit about him. But then there was Lydia. He thought, maybe he should just go back to the netherworld, deal with that whole mess with the trespassing and - No! He couldn’t think like that. He still wanted to do this one thing for Lydia. He didn’t care if it won the others over anymore.

Clearly they didn’t really care, if they did they would have actually treated him like a person before banishing him like some misbehaving child going to time out or throwing a dog into its crate. It hurt, he didn’t know why at first, but it really hurt when Charles banished him. It was because he actually felt like he belonged to that family, that everything was ‘perfectly strange’ as Lydia put it, maybe he was wrong. But maybe he could make it right?

Determination and hope sparked inside Beetlejuice, his hair shifted to something more between green and blue, matching the cold around him. A half smile slid across his face. “Well I guess its like they say, once you hit bottom there’s nowhere but up” A smirk grew across his face “And I have been to hell” He laughed at himself “That's about as far down as you can go” He cackled. 

Beetlejucie was suddenly caught off guard by the sudden sound of movement in near by bush, and when he turned around he was surprised to find two familiar faces staring back at

* * *

Shauna and Dani had been walking back from school, it was already lunchtime and school had let out early due to the half day. They had agreed to meet with Lydia at her house so they could finish their costumes and head out for some early trick or treating. The town was full of wealthy families and overprotective parents, so most trick or treating happened before nightfall due to how active teenagers seemed to be in their ‘tricking’ or as the police call it, vandalism. 

Lydia had took a different route so that she could pick up a few things from the local dollar store, so she would be a few minutes later than Shauna and Dani would be arriving. They decided to just take the shortest path to Lydia house anyway, it beat standing out in the cold anyway. Maybe Delia would make them some hot chocolate! 

While the walked and chatted down the sidewalk, Dani came to a sudden stop.They stood directly in front of the bush that lead to the otherside of the cemetery near Lydia’s house. “Do you feel that?” Dani asked, looking at Shauna, who only made a confused noise which revealed her cold breath in the air.

“Its warm” Dani said again, almost purring. 

“I don’t feel anything?” Shauna walked closer to Dani.

“Its gone” Dani whined. Dani stood and waited for a minute to see if the sudden warm breeze would return. “It came from this way, let's go find out where it came from” Dani cheered.  
“Yeah.. No” Shauna said, rubbing her cold hands together and placing them over her numb nose. “Not today Satan!” Shauna laughed “That spooky graveyard is over there, I ain’t reenacting a horror movie” She protested.

“Oh please, it's the middle of the day” Dani said rolling her eyes. Dani grabbed Shauna by the wrist and led her through the thick bush until they made it to the other side. Suddenly hearing a familiar raspy voice with a hopeful tone talk aloud.

“Beetlejuice!” They cried in unison and the demon turned around and stepped back too far and tripped over the grave stone directly behind him, letting out a yelp. They both immediately ran to the demons aid, but jumped back as he leaned up at an unnatural position, damn did this man even have a spine. His legs still half way over the tombstone and shouted “My dudes!” Oh gracious why did they teach him how to say ‘my dude’, they laughed at his antics.

* * *

“What are you doing out here BJ?” Shauna finally asked aloud after all the laughter calmed down.

“I could ask you two the same!” Beetlejuice gave them a cheeky smile, “I thought breathers only came here when one of you died? Well, accept for Lydia” he laughed. “But she is a different story” 

“Ain't that the truth.” Shauna agreed, “Oh shoot, we were going to go meet up with her,” She paused and looked at the time on her phone, “You coming” she turned to walk the way they came but neither Beetlejuice or Dani made any indication of following. Shauna dropped her arms in protest and huffed out a breath, which she could see in the cold air. 

“Wait,” Dani said “We came to find where that warm wind came from” Dani reminded Shauna, placing a hand on her hip as she looked at her impatient friend.

“Warm? Oh!” Beetlejuice face lit up, “You mean this?” He opened his palm. His fingers returned to the same red tipped claw form it held earlier as a small flame flickered above Beetlejuice’s hand. Warm instantly washed over the area. 

“Yes!” Dani cried, and leaned on Beetlejuice to get closer to the flame, Beetlejuice jumped slightly as the two teens approach the flame like a bunch of moths to a lamp. 

“Careful, it's hell fire you little crackheads” He snapped at them “It will burn you breathers to the bone,”they looked at him eyes wide, but after a moment the returned their gaze to the warm flame, keeping a safer distance this time. His gaze softened “It is warm isn’t it”

“Damn Beej” Shauna admitted, “Is this why your always so warm, caring around a pocket of hell with you?” She laughed, Dani did as well. Beetlejuice only rolled his eyes.

“Nah,” He paused, his voice switched to something more skeptical or similar to the voices that theorists youtubers made, “They say demons are just sentient hell flame, so maybe that's why?” his tone switched to normal at the end and he let out a laugh.

“That’s so freaking cool!” Dani held her fists against her face, trying to warm them and her face together. Squinting her eyes in excitement. “Sounds a lot like the theory that we are all just living in a simulation.” Dani laughed.

“Oh the one where we are like a really complex Sim game?” Shauna added with a disbelieving laugh.

“Jeez, you breathers sure do got your theories” Beetlejuice gave a half laugh as the flame moved around in his hand.

“Do you think it's true?” Dani asked. Beetlejuice gave her a quizzical look. 

“The simulation? Nah,_ I mean what are the chances we are just characters that some random person is controlling and watching us from the otherside of the screen?_” Beetlejuice shrugged.

“That was specific” Shauna laughed. “What about the one about demon’s?” 

“Eh, I mean I guess it makes sense in a way” He shrugged again and began moving his fingers ever so slightly, the flame in his palm responded but shifting around erratically but always returning to the same shape. “Hell fire is really fluid, unlike normal fire. Demons are like that too” he said, the flame bounced around from one clawed finger to the other before returning to his palm. “So maybe?” He said and the flame shifted from a deep red to a green that suited Beetlejuice aesthetic much more.

“Again, so cool!” Dani hummed. Beetlejuice just watched the two starry eyed teens in amazement, after that whole fight with the Maitlands and him not thinning anyone but maybe Lyds would understand him, had he really forgotten about these two? Shauna and Dani just as amazing as Lydia, but in their own unique way.

“Right!” Shauna agreed, they enjoyed the increased warmth the flame filled the area with, despite it small size before Shauna jumped again as she realized that Lydia was probably waiting for them. “I am going to text Lyds to meet us here, unless y’all are ready to go?”

Beetlejuice looked between the two, before he decided that he couldn’t ignore the Maitlands or how he felt about the whole thing any longer, these two were his friends right? At least they said they were, so he is going to give this whole trust thing one more shot. Heck if the events that just transpired, although not anything special, where any proof they cared then hey, it was worth it.

“Can you tell her to meet us here, I am sort of avoiding the Maitlands” Beetlejuie finally admitted, surprise came across a slightly distracted Shauna’s face as she texted Lydia and a look of sadness across Dani’s features. 

“What, why?” Dani whined. Beetlejuice shrunk back a little at that. “Oh jesus! Um You don't have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to” she paused ”or at all, no pressure” at this Beetlejuice did let out a little chuckle.

“Its fine, bud” He gave Dani a toothy smile. A few moments of silence passed, it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but the two worried teens would have sworn it was an hour or more as their concern for their friend grew. Beetlejuice finally let a breath escape him. “Lyds says it's good to talk about this emotional junk, so who best to talk to a bunch of angsty teens?” He laughed.

“I resent that” A familiar voice full of humor came from behind them. It was Lydia. “I got your text and I wasn’t too far, so surprised” she explained, waving his hands as she said the word ‘surprise’ with a wacky smile on her face.

They all laughed. Beetlejuice began feeling them in on what happened, they watched as his hair seemingly changed colors with each change that occured in the situation he was explaining to them. By the end of it, it was clear Beetlejuice just wanted to cry, and the three teens to say the least were ** pissed.**

“I knew you guys were fighting, but my god!” Lydia finally broke the silence, anger growing in her face as the blood rushed to it. “You should have told me how much what happened at the hospital upset you beej, I, We could have talked to them together…” She said, voice and gaze becoming softer as she addressed her friend.

“It doesn’t matter I already fucked up big time” He grumbled. They all had made it to the ground during the explanation, Beetlejuice held his knees close to his chest and arms wrapped around him. He was currently barring half his face into his arms, to avoid the stare of the three teens he just spilled his guts to. 

“Beej, no” Dani whined a bit, rubbing her hand on Beetlejuice back watching as the purples and blues mixed in his hair. 

“Maybe feeding into their misconception of demons through intimidation wasn’t the _best_ choice, but they messed up to” Shauna explained. Beetlejuice only gave her a confused look. “Growling didn’t help you situation” She cleared up, he made a sound similar to ‘ah’ as he finally understood her.

“Shauna’s right though, they really should have talked to you about the whole summoning and banishing thing, it's not fair for them to impose rules on you without you being allowed to have your own boundaries.” Dani Paused, “No matter the situation” 

“Its like if I get my phone took away” Lydia explained, “That still doesn’t give my parents the right to go through my phone, that’s a violation of my privacy and trust. As much as I adore the Maitlands, I won’t pretend that's not what they did BJ.” Lydia concluded, bringing her shoulders up a bit as she talked. “They broke your trust, you had every right to feel hurt.”

Beetlejuice sat there and listened to the teens, why are they so smart? He is a millenia old demon, has met ghosts, demons, and other creatures that are far beyond these three teens in years, but they were so wise compared to those he had met. 

“I am still ticked Barbara tried comparing you to your mom” Dani grumbled out, Beetlejuice almost burst out laughing at the venom the rolled of Dani’s tongue about his mom, it was amusing to say the least. “If I ever got compared to my step mom, I would literally leap off a cliff” she through her arms up dramatically.

They laughed at Dani’s antics to lighten the mood. Beetlejuice enjoyed the three teenagers company and honestly how much they related and treated him as an actual person was therapeutic.

“I got a question” Beetlejuice hummed, effectively getting all three teen’s attention. “Why are teenagers so smart?” He said. The three burst out laughing.

“We are so NOT” Shauna said.

“We are literally the generation that ate tide pods dude” Lydia laughed.

“Hey those things are tasty” Beetlejuice said and the three’s eyes practically bulged out of their head and fell over laughing, good thing they were already on the ground.

“They do say each generation is increasingly more open minded” Shauna supplied “Maybe that's why?” 

“Could be” Dani hummed as she watched the flame that rested above the center of their little makeshift circle. The flame had left their minds but remained, Beetlejuice had maintained it so they could all enjoy its warmth. 

Silence passed over them for a few moments. Beetlejuice shifted in the spot he sat on the ground, “The whole situation just sort of sucks” he half mumbled. “It's Halloween and the Maitlands get to be seen.” He let out a sad sigh.

“They do?” Shuana asked, clearly this was new information.

“Ghosts have a higher chance of being noticed by the living on spiritually connected holidays” Lydia explained, “Especially if the living enter their haunting parameters” She added. Shauna wasn’t entirely sure what haunting parameters meant, but she assumed it was the house since she knew the maitlands couldn’t leave. 

“I have an idea” Lydia announced, standing to her feet. “We should summon you for when we go trick or treating, you can go with us and help us get more candy” an evil smirk grew across her face. Beetlejuice’s heart felt like it was about to explode.

“What about your parents though kid?” He asked, trying to hide his excitement. 

“Screw em” She said in the most comically intimidating voice she could muster. Dani and Shauna cheered and everyone laughed as the excitement died down a bit. At this point everyone had stood and Lydia was getting ready to do the summons, when Shauna and Dani shared a look and had an idea of their own.

“Beetlejuice” Lydia began, Dani and Shauna tagged on to the word a little late but made sure to sync up with her on the next two. “Beetlejuice” they said in unison. “Beetlejuice!” He could feel the familiar tug of being summoned and suddenly he felt a thousand times better than he did prior, as he was feeling the effects of summoning hell fire outside of the shared haunting parameters. 

Beetlejuice leaned forward and wrapped all three of them in his arms, picking them up and a huge bear hug. “You guys are the best” He cried as the teens laughed and cried out that he was squeezing them. He set them down slowly, allowing them to regain their balance.

“Well, it's getting about that time” Lydia shook her phone in her hand, screen facing the other three. “We should get the costumes fixed up and head out so we can at least hit up the rich neighborhoods for those full sized chocolate bars.” She laughed.

They began to head in the direction of the path back to the house on the hill. However, Beetlejuice felt a tug on the sleeve of his coat, Dani held the cuff on his coat between their thumb and index finger, “Are you going to be ok?” Dani asked, looking up at the demon.

Beetlejuice let out a chuckle and lifted the arm Dani had the sleeve of above her head and ruffled the short hair nested on top of it. “Gonna be just fine, bud” he said as he smiled to the teen. They all made their way home.

* * *

The three teens and their demon made their way back to the house on the hill. Making a clear shot for Lydia’s bedroom for the sake of Beetlejuice and allowing him some space from the Maitlands, or rather the Maitlands space from Beetlejuice. However, that didn’t quite work out as planned. 

They hurried up the stairs only to be caught last minute by the Maitlands leaving the attic. “Lydia is that you?” Adam called. The couples leaned out of the doorway, and met the gaze of a very uncomfortable demon. “Oh umm hi… Beetlejuice”

Adam and Barbara looked at each other. They couldn’t notice Beetlejuice had been summoned, honestly no one could accept for Lydia, it seemed to be an addition to her odd powers. What made it obvious was how much of his ‘juice’ he used. 

Beetlejuice wanted to run but he froze where he stood. “Beetlejuice, Listen..” Barbara began. The teens watched the three adults cringe and tense at whatever was about to be done or said before the most remarkable, or hilarious thing, depending on your point of view, happened.

“Sorry” Was shouted by all three adults, some “Im”’s and “We’re”' s were lost in the shouting, but the apology was heard by all parties involved. stared at each other as time ticked by, Beetlejuice let loose a nervous chuckle and Adam and Barbara let out a breath and shared a laugh.

“That was” Barbara began.

“Way too stressful” Adam added.

“Yeah” Beetlejuie concluded.

“Adam and I talked about it, and we messed up” Barbara began to say and she walked into the walkway completely, but did not get too close to Beetlejuice.

“Babs, I screwed up too, I should hav-” He began but was cut off by Adam.

“You’re right you shouldn’t have” He waved his hand “don't whatever all that was, but we shouldn’t have done what we did either, or at least without talking” 

“Um, Thanks” Beetlejuice said, turning his head a bit shly, not sure what to say now. He tried to reach forward to, he didn’t know what, shake their hand, hold it, pat em on the back? But as he got closer he could see fear spark in the couple’s eyes, ever so slightly and he watched as Barbara tucked her hands back behind the ruffles of her dress.

“We should talk more about this,” Barbara breathed “but maybe later tonight, when we all feel more up to it?” She asked.

Beetlejuice nodded, frowning a bit “Yeah.. sounds good” he tried to hide his frown with a false smile and the Maitlands only watched as Beetlejuice was lead into Lydia's room, or rather pulled into it by three concerned teenagers. The door closed softly behind them.

* * *

Beetlejuce let out a breath he hadn’t known he been holding and leaned his back against the door and slid down to the floor. He sat with his knees bent and elbows resting on top of them while the palm of his hands were pressed over his eyes.

“Beej, you ok?” Lydia asked. 

“Yeah that was.. Interesting” Shauna admitted.

“Thank god/satan they don’t hate me” He breathed and each teen let out a sort of chuckle. He was going to be ok.

“They never hated you BJ” Dani said as she held her hand out to help the demon up. He accepted but of course did not actually use the small teen to stand, rather he used his own momentum and legs to do that. 

“At least it's out of the way for right now” Shauna smiled and patted his arm. “Time for costumes!” She cheered as she opened her bag and pulled out all her supplies. Chaos ensued as the teens had makeup and costume parts spread across the room, each taking advantage of every mirror Lydia owned. 

Lydia had taken over her bathroom and began putting on her costume as it required minimum makeup compared to the other two’s. When she finally got changed she wore an old torn up hoodie that had wolf ears sewn onto them. She wore fingerless gloves and nail extensions that were painted black. She also intended to paint a black dog nose over her own and whatever else she thought would fit the “wolf man” look.

“Nice!” Shauna called out, carrying the e out as she said it. 

“Ah you look awesome Lydia!” Dani and Beetlejuice cried in unison which left the two laughing. Beetlejuice floated onto his back as he laughed, which just got the teens attention on something they completely forgot. 

“Wait a second” Shauna said “What are you gonna be Bug boy?” She asked, he gave her a confused look.

“For Halloween,” Dani supplied, “Gotta be something other than yourself, a day of masks and tricks” she laughed. Beetlejuice scratched at his facial hair, racking his brain for an idea.

“I have an idea,” Lydia said as she pulled the hood of the hoodie off her head and walked over to the floating demon who floated closer to the grown so she could whisper in his ear. An evil grin grew across his face and with a snap of his fingers, a puff of purple smoke appeared in place of the demon.

When it cleared, there stood an older looking teenager, maybe a 20 something year old woman wearing striped shorts that resembled oversized boxers and a tank top saying “save the turtles”. Her skin was a purplish pink, but looked mostly alive and human, hair was held back by a black and white striped band and an awkward small pony tail with a bat hair clip rested on top. The person held a hydro flask and had dozens of scrunchies around their wrist. 

“ I’m a VSCO girl!” the raspy voice exited the woman’s voice in a cheer. They all broke out in laughed, this was amazing, he literally was a vsco girl now. Well close enough, Shauna could have sworn she never seen a vsco girl with leg hair like BJ’s but who cares this was great. 

“Sksksksksk” Beetlejuice attempted and Shauna and Lyida had to try and stop laughing before they broke something. They chests ached from how hard they laughed. 

“Stop BJ” Lydia cried “I have given you way to much power with this,” she breathed hard “my lungs hurt” They all laughed. Dani was laughing along with everyone but was also a little amazed by the fact Beetlejuice had just completely shape shifted into a woman. The thought ‘wish humans could do that’ passed through their mind, but they quickly shook it away, and replaced it with the thought of Beetlejuice running around saying ‘and I oop’ all night. 

“Call me Beatrice Juice” He smiled a big toothy grin shiny his yellow teeth. He was a little surprised he could say something so similar to his actual middle name, huh good to know.

  


Once the laughter finally calmed down it was Shauna turn to get ready. She grabbed a wad of clothes, which was the tangled mess of her custom and entered Lydia bathroom. When she came back out her hair had been done and sprayed with cheap colored hair paint and she wore a costume dress covered in stitches. She had painted stitched on her face, arms and shoulders and parts of her skin with green or purple body paint.

“I’m Alive” She cheered as she exited the bathroom, getting an eye roll from Dani who was too use to her drama by now. “Miss Frankenstein, has arrived” She posed, flipping her hair. Dani couldn’t help but blush a little at how pretty she looked, she wore the costume and confidence so well. 

Compliments went around the room and now it was Dani’s turn, which Lydia and Shauna had to practically shove into the bathroom to get ready. Dani had attempted to chicken out, but regained their confidence by the fact that they got to wear a suit of some kind. Dani had allowed Shauna to do the shopping for their costume and well, thought the worst, but was pleasantly surprised. 

Dani came out of the bathroom dressed in a classic dracula suit, wearing gloves with pointed nails resembling claws and a small bow tie. Dani had tied his hair up and sprayed the top of it with white hair spray that was left over from Shauna costume. Once again compliments went around the room and many vampire jokes were made.

  


“Oh shit I forgot the fangs!” Dani quickly hurried back into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror trying to put in the fake fangs, and failing. After a minute or two an embarrassing cry came from Dani “Hey Shauna…”

“I'm coming” Shauna rolled her eyes and laughed as she walked in there to help attach plastic fangs to her friends teeth. She had already guessed this would happen so she wasn’t surprised in the least.

Lydia continued to look over her costume and make sure she wasn’t missing anything herself, she had not completely decided if she would wear earrings or not, since she would be wearing the hoodie anyway. Oh what harm could it do. 

“Hey Beej” Lydia called, her response coming in the form of a raspy hum, “Think you could look in the little box on my dresser” she paused, “The skull one, and get me my pair of crescent moon earrings?”

“Sure, Babes” Beeltjuice replied, not having anything better to he dug through the tiny box, finding the pair of earrings she was talking about, one at a time near the bottom of the box. However, something else caught his eye, a single ring. His ring.

He held the earrings in the palm of his hand while he held the ring between his thumb and index finger of the same hand, staring at it in amazement. “You kept this old thing?” a smile grew across his face.

“Huh?” Lydia turned around “Oh, uh yeah” she walked over to him and took the earings out of his hand and began putting them in, however did not attempt to take the ring from him.

“Why?” He asked “I mean the whole ‘marriage’ thing was a huge mistake, why keep it?”confusion was written all across his face. Sure he was happy to see it but he wasn’t happy about the memory attached to it. 

“It felt wrong to toss it, ya know?” She said, shrugging a bit as she continued to put in her earrings. “Especially without you around, it was sort of like a keepsake I guess.” She paused “Mom used to say I had a small hoarding problem, don’t open my top dresser drawer it's full of random shit” she laughed. He responded with a chuckle.

“I just never thought I would see this thing again,” he said, not completely directing the question at her but it still caused her curiosity to grow. 

“Is it special to you?” She asked. Beetlejuice nodded his head to the left and right, looking along with the direction as he did so. Wavering his hand side to side in a ‘so so’ type of motion.

“Sort of, it's not like you breathers who pass down wedding rings or nothin” He replied “It's just the only of its kind.” He flipped the ring between his fingers like a coin. 

“How so?” She was super invested now, and Dani and Shauna had also become quiet in the bathroom, they had left the door open, no need to shut it and were currently listening in without the other two’s knowledge. 

“It’s made from my magic, babes!” He laughed “Carved straight from one of my own damn baby horns” he said as if this is common knowledge. Lydia’s eyes lit up.

“You have horns!” She explained, 

“What the hell is a ‘baby horn” came Shauna’s voice as she and Dani leaned their heads out from the bathroom. Great now he had everyone's attention,beetlejuice rolled his eyes at this. 

“Uh yeh, most demons do. Thought you breathers knew that, since you couldn’t get over it when demons first roamed the living plane” he gestured at nothing in particular and continued once he received confused looks “ya know all the demons lookin like goats and shit” they all had and “ah ha” moment and Beetlejuice just rolled his eyes in amusement. 

“So what are baby horns? They sound like baby teeth.” Dani stated.

“You hit it right on the head, bud.” Beetlejucie laughed “They are just early horns that eventually break off when little demon brats learn how to fight. Horns grow back of course, if ya want em to” he shrugged.

“So the ring is made out of a part of you, your horn?” Lydia asked, putting them back on the topic of the ring. Dani and Shauna joined them near the dresser ready to hear the rest of this interesting conversation.

“Yup! That's the only way the whole bringing alive thing would have worked to, it had to be a ring that was connected to me” He laughed. “But I have had the old thing for ages, it was supposed to be for a breather I made a pact with years ago, but they died” She shrugged again and the teens just rolled their eyes. 

“Pact?” Dani asked.

“Yeah, the poor sap wanted proof I wouldn’t drag his soul to hell or whatever, pact is what he called it, I just call it a good ol’ fashioned deal. Like the one you and I made Lyds!” She floated in the air, sporting his normal relaxed pose. “To get your folks off your back” he laughed. 

“Yeah, that was a blast” She recalled. 

“Aw, so no crazy blood pact, or sacrifice?” Dani whined.

“Uh no” Beetlejuice paused and pointed at the teen “Damn kid your morbid” He added and they all laughed at the silliness of it all. “Oh! Before I forget, this would be perfect for an early birthday gift”

Everyone's eyes lit up, most noticeably Lydia’s. “Gift?” she asked. They watched as Beetlejuice cupped his hands over the ring he still held in his hand and when he opened them again the single band was replaced with a thin clean ring with a small spider crafted with a purple jewel in the base of its body on it. Lydia gasped. “Its matched Mom’s broach” She cried.

Dani and Shauna leaned over Lydia shoulders to get a good look at the ring as Beetlejuice handed it to her. He gave her a wide smile. “The detail!” Lydia cried, there was no way she was this obsessed over the details of jewelry, beetlejuice rolled his eyes. “It's literally a tiny replica of mom broach, how did you?” Beetlejuice’s eyes widened in realization, smart girl, she caught on fast.

“Know what it looks like?” He shook his finger at her “ah ah ah, no questions about that until your birthday remember” He added and Lydia glared at him.

“Oh you are a turd” She said and crossed her arms and huffed at him. Beetlejuice cackles as the other two teens watched in mild confusion, not really sure what they had meant. “Well, if I have to wait on that question…” She said as she slid the ring on her finger and held her fingers apart. “Although now I am very curious.” She laughed. “You never elaborated on why a ring would be made out of a demon’s horn, er, well, baby horn in this case?” Lydia asked, attempting to correct herself along the way.

“Yeah” Shauna added. “I get it had to be connected to you, but like why a horn?” she asked as Dani leaned her on shoulder, eyes glued to BJ as she waited for his response, wondering the same thing.

“Jeez you guys” Beetlejuice looked away with a cheeky grin growing on his face, “We haven't even left the house and you are already wearing me out with these questions.” He laughed. He only got a half laughs and half expecting glares from the teens that told him he had no choice but to answer the question. 

“Well” Beetlejuice started, “like I said it is just to make a deal, one of imortance, benefits both sides” He waved his finger side to side as he began to explain. “It can be made out of anything, but like horns are the less painful way.” He laughed and Shauna and Dani shared a look that was mixed between a cringe of shared pain at the thought of any other part of the body being used as well as a half chuckle that came about due to Beeltejuice’s own humor around the situation.

“And as for the importance” Beetlejuice scratched at his facial hair, “I was gonna wait and tell you this but..” He trailed off which only made the teens way more impatient, espeially Lydia who gave him a sketptical look. “The ring is super useful for sneaking breathers into the nether and neither worlds” He leaned forward inches away from each teen that was facing him. He gave them a shit eating grin which was only met with confusion, until Lydia’s eyes lit up with realization.

“Wait! Your not serious are you?!” Lydia asked, grabbing Beetlejuice but the front of the coat, he turned his head to the side and attempted to escape from her grip, but due to him floating, it didn’t do much good.

“I wouldn’t have told the kid that jumped to the netherworld that I was willing to sneak her back into it if I wasn’t, kid” He let out a disbelieving laugh and Lydia squieled like and excited little girl. To say anyone was expecting that would be a lie, even Shauna nad Dani had to do a double take before they could join in on the excitment. “Won’t get to do it right away, because of the whole on the run thing, but once it dies down figured it would be fun to show you around the Neitherworld and other cool places” He laughed.

Lydia practically tackled the floating ghost with a hug, “Thank you thank you thank you” She breathed out as she hung around his neck as he floated, her knees bent leaving them dangling above the ground. “I can’t wait I just know its gonna be so much fun based off all those stories you told me” She laughed. Beetlejuice waited a minute, laughing along, before he finally helped her back to the ground, thought she really didn’t need it since they were only a foot or so off the ground.

“Yeah, since you did it once already, I couldn’t stop ya if I wanted to. So thought the ring would be a good idea that way you had some form of protection.” He laughed “That and so the afterworld’s wouldn’t slowly claim your soul, which is never fun” He elbowed her in the arm playfully and she only rolled her eyes.

“Yeah,” Lydia laughed, “Not fun” 

“Slowly claim your soul?” Dani asked worried. Lydia waved Dani off.

“Don’t worry I wasn’t in the netherworld long enough for any damage to be done” She laughed “BJ filled me in after thought that I could have become a ghost myself if I stayed in there for too long, same for my dad” she shrugged and the two other teens just gave each other a look of concern for their friend who apparently wasn’t too heartbroken over the idea that she almost became a ghost.

Shauna placed a hand on her hip as a playful smile grew across her face, “So are we gonna have to wait for our birthday to get one or?” She laughed, Dani caught on almost immediately and joined in on the fun.

“Yeah, you can’t visit the afterlife and not bring your best friends!” Dani directed the question at both Lydia and Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice gave back a playful laugh, he loved that they had called themselves his best friends, Lydia’s too! It was true, he knew it was true, but it was good to hear it, he had friends, and they would never know just how much Beetlejuice appreciates them.

“We’ll see” Beetlejuice finally chimed in, playfully the other teens shouted in protest, either between a ‘hey!’ or ‘you better bug boy!’, which just made his shit eating grin grow even bigger across his face.

They joked and teased for a few minutes before they began hearing noise from downstairs. They walked over to Lydia’s window and watched as children made their way up to the house and the hill wearing various costumes. It was time.

Beetlejuice continued to stare out the window, not for any particular reason, but he was glad he did. Something or rather someone, two someone’s caught his eye. He noticed two men, one tall and lanky the other large and round wearing suits with a design that put his nerves on edge. Swirls on suits, did not have positive associations in Beetlejuice mind, they reminded him of his mother and her red swirl covered business attire. 

He watched as the men talked and seemingly argued behind some decorative trees meant to block the view of passerby’s and provide some privacy to those who lived in the house. He watched as they walked over to a group of children and approached two stranglers. The two children were wearing stereotypical superhero costumes and Beetljeuice watched as the two ghosts full blown possessed the two children and continued their path to the house.

All the red flags went off inside Beetlejuice green haired head. Shit they were ghosts, they were from the netherworld, that's why they reminded him of Juno, that's why they looked oddly familiar. And they were probably after him for the whole trespassing bullshit, it made since, whenever he pissed off other demons or creatures everything always ended up going back to the netherworld office to deal with. So maybe the angels of death finally gave up on chasing him and send some netherworld junkies after him. Great. 

A lot better than demons being after him, ghosts were nothing compared to them, but still. Netherworld employee’s had access to some dirty tricks and tools they could use, especially since their old boss used to be a demon.

“BJ are you coming?” Lydia called, the teens had already made it to the doorway and were about to leave Beetlejuice, sorry Beatrice Juice, behind. He quickly made his way behind the teens and followed them out the door. Luckily for him their excitement led to them practically running out the door and down the driveway just as the two ghost possessed children approached the Maitlands who had been handing out candy alongside Delia.

Delia just shouted her goodbyes before having her long sleeve halloween shirt be tugged on by the small child in the superhero costume. “Excuse me ma’am” He hear melted so cute “Is this the Deetz residence?” he asked. 

Delia thought it was odd but gave him an honest answer “yes, it is dear, look at you so smart” she pinched his cheek and gave them both and extra piece of candy. Not thinking twice about the question or how the boys looked at each other with an evil grin growing across their face, or rather she didn’t notice the last part, too busy making sure she and the Maitlands didn’t run out of candy to hand out.

* * *

The classic horror movie monsters, Frankenstein, the Wolf man, Dracula, and The VSCO girl dressed teens covered as much ground as they could before they took their first break to dump all their candy into another bag so theirs would be empty. They hoped this would increase their chances of getting even more candy. 

Beetlejuice, or rather Beatrice played the role of the adult escorting the three teens, although he had looked like a woman dressed as a vsco girl, he still remained to an age close to the one he appeared to be as a demon, maybe slightly younger. Beatrice couldn’t have looked any older than maybe 25 or younger than 20, although the whole slightly more purple than pink skin didn’t entirely help.

They had hit up most all the neighborhoods they were familiar with, now they had to figure out which ones were next on the list and how they wanted to go about it before it got too dark and they had to go home due to the unofficial townwide halloween curfew. It had been put into place due to mischievous teens and adults playing some not so nice Halloween tricks on people.

“So, where to next” Shauna asked as she tossed some small candies in her mouth, holding the package they came in her other hand.

“What about New and Old valley?” Lydia asked.

“Can we avoid New valley? That’s where Claire lives, and I heard she is having some big slumber party and that's a wasps nest I do not want to ring the doorbell of” Dani replied, digging through her own bag of candy to look for a snack as they walked down the sidewalk.

“Right, tonight was going so good I forgot about that she witch” Shauna added.

“Hey, that's offensive to witches” Beetlejuice remarked which got a laugh out of everyone. Thoughtful silence fell between each member of the group as they thought about where they would go next before Shauna came up with a brilliant idea.

“Lets go to Old Valley, and then to New once it starts to get dark” Shauna said, pausing for dramatic effect and getting confused looks from both Dani and Lydia. Beetlejuice was too focused on eating both the candy and wrappers to notice what she had said was odd. “That way we can egg or TP claire’s house” Shauna cackled.

“Oh!” Beetlejuice cried as he floated between both Dani and Lydia “Can we~” The demon pleaded, “We need to add some trick to this whole trick or treating thing” he laughed. 

“Where would we get eggs tho?” Dani asked. 

“Dani had a point, we should play it by ear.” Lydia added. “But I am totally down if we get the chance to do it” She laughed. 

The group continued as they had planned, finally making it through most of Old Valley before stopping by an old house that looked to have been built around the same time the house on the hill had been. Although the house on the hill had been heavily renovated the parts that were untouched really gave away its age. The attic was one of those places, which Lydia figured was why the Maitlands liked it so much.

The house had really caught Lydia’s eyes because of all the over the top halloween decorations, it was a funny mix of the classic cartoony stuff and some actual horror. It was obvious it was a mix between two people’s view of Halloween, and she loved every minute of it.

They made it down the path, setting of some motion sensored jump scare props, which they all got a laugh out of. They even stopped to get a picture with a skeletal one that was dangling from a tree branch, which resulted in them having the convenience Beetlejuice, or Beatrice as he looked to come back down from the tree.

Once they finally convinced Beetlejuice to come back down they were greeted by a warm voice of a middle aged woman. “Hello” She called, and made her way down the path, closer to them. “Sorry to be a bother, but I got a little concerned when you didn’t make it to the door” She laughed “My daughter has been adding all these decorations on top of mine that I was afraid no one could see the path to the door”

“No problem Ma’m” Dani replied. “We were just goofing off, love the decorations” 

Shauna and Dani agreed and Beetlejuice gave them a toothy grin. The woman though a bit unsettled by the sharp yellow teeth in the older woman’s, Beatrice, mouth, led the teens back to the doorway to give them the candy they had come for.

“Well I am glad you like the decorations, it's always a fight with Reggie too not over do it” The woman laughed as she dumped a generous amount of candy into each of their bags “but as you can see we have conflicting tastes in decor” the woman chuckled, half covering her hand.  
“Is she the one that did all the classic horror stuff?” Shauna asked. “Cause it looks great, not that the other stuff doesn’t” She gave a nervous laugh. 

“Its fine dear, yes Reggie did the really scary stuff, she has always enjoyed the classics,” She woman clasped her hands together “Speaking of it looks like we have a dracula” She pointed at Dani, “Frankenstein” pointed to Lydia “Wolfman or Woman in this case” She laughed as she pointed to Lydia “And.. of dear I don’t think I know this one.

“It ok miss-” Dani began “Beatrice is a-” Dani was cut off by the woman interrupting her.

“Call me Tulip dear,” She smiled “Oh, I know who will know” A grin came across Tulip’’s face as she called her daughter “Reggie, dear please come her”

“Coming mom” A teenaged girls voice could be heart from not too far away inside the house. The sound of walking across hardwood followed, however it was a little off. A teenager, who couldn’t be more than a year older than Lydia and her friends came to the door. She was wearing a boot, one you would get for breaking your foot from a doctor, or something of the like.

“What's up?” the girl they assumed to be Reggie asked. “Oh! No way a vsco girl? Nice” Reggie hit the mark without even realizing that's the reason she was called to the door, she held her fist out for Beatrice to fist bump her back, which Beetlejuice did. 

Reggie beacon talking to the group alongside her mother, but Lydia had completely zoned out, way to distracted by the slightly older teens appearance. The boot on her left foot was an obvious, but Lydia had major respect for her aesthetic, it was very tomboy but also like a classic rocker girl. She wondered if it was part of a costume, probably not as the boot seemed to be what was keeping her from being out with her friends anyway. 

Lydia was practically hypnotised by just how cool the girl looked, her hair was styled to the side, the sides of her head being buzzed and having been artificially colored, it almost looked as real as Beetlejuice’s real color changing hair. The girl wore no makeup and only had single piercing in each ear, however had a small chain earring that latched to the top of her ear, which Lydia just thought was adorable. 

Wait… Adorable? Lydia became a bit flustered, sure she had appreciated how people have looked, of course she found others aesthetically attractive, but this was a little more than that. Was she experiencing her first crush? Oh jeez, Lydia became lost in her thoughts.

“Hey wolf gal” The slightly deeper but still feminine voice of Reggie called, Lydia still didn’t snap out of her internal panic and only heard what sounded like the muffled sounds of her friends voice saying her name, which was mostly due to her zoning out big time. “Lydia right?”

“Y-yeh” Lydia finally snapped back to reality. Face bright red as she looked up at the taller teens eyes. She lowered the hood to her costume like someone would take their hat off when entering a building or someone’s house.

“Names Reggie,” She smiled “Oh, I like your earrings, I got a pair just like them but their silver” she laughed and Lydia could have sworn Beetlejuice was making her float because she felt completely weightless at the sound of that compliment.

“Thanks” Lydia smiled, “Sorry I zoned out” she finally admitted which just caused the group to laugh.

“Happens to the best of us, my dude” Reggie replied, leaning on the doorway. “I really like y’all’s costumes, which I could’ve gone out and had some fun this Halloween, but busted my foot while skating” she laughed.

“Yikes” Beetlejuice said as he finally noticed the boot on the girls foot.

“Sounds rough” Shauna said before getting her second evil idea of the night “Ya know, Lydia made her own costume from scratch” Shauna said, getting some serious what are you doing looks from Lydia.

“Really?! That's so cool!” Reggie cheered getting a bit excited “Knew you had to be an artist, just had that look to you” she laughed as she addressed Lydia. “I try to paint and stuff, but I am not very good” She added as she leaned back through the doorway and grabbed something from the otherside of the wall.

Reggie held up a broken skateboard, must have been what she meant when she said ‘busted’ her foot while skating, seems the same happened to her board. However, what caught everyone’s eyes was the paint jump the bottom of the board had. It had stuck on it as well, however not as many as most skaters usually slapped on their boards.

“Woah” sounded from several groups mouths as they looked at the different abstract designs littered across the broken board. “I don't really paint either, I mostly like messing around with clothes, so I promise you your a lot better than me at painting” Lydia added which caught Reggie a bit off guard, blush spreading across her face.

“Ya think it's that good?” Reggie gave a nervous laugh. Beetlejuie, Dani, and Shauna all shared an evil look with each other after witnessing how Reggie and Lydia had reacted to each other’s compliments, they liked each other and it was obvious so it was game on. Objective matchmaking is ago!

“Is your foot hurt that bad?” Dani interrupted the two, “I mean, I was just curious” Dani added nervously. Reggie turned to face dani and shook their head side to side a bit before they answered.

“Not really, but mah over here” Reggie gestured to her mother who had went and got another bad of candy to refill the bowl she had by the door “Doesn’t want me being out alone with a hurt foot and all my friends ditched me cause they didn’t want to wait on me” Reggie laughed, her mother only gave her a sad look from behind.

“Some friends” Beetljeuice grumbled, Reggie only returned the comment with a soft smile, it was sad but mature concerning the situation. SHauna elbowed Beatrice in the side and with an ‘oof’ the demon cringed back as he realized he had said that aloud.

“Why don’t you come with us then?” Lydia asked out of the blue, “I mean we were only going to hit up one more neighborhood, its New Valley so its well lit and nothing bad ever happened there.” Lydia gave a big smile as Tulip turned to face the group. 

“I don’t know..” Tulip began to say before being interrupted by her daughter.

“Please mom” Reggie pleaded, Tulip could tell that Reggie had made some new friends and figured what was the harm in letting some kids have some fun.

“I will keep an eye on the kids Mrs. T” Beatrice chimed in, raspy voice catching Tulip a little off guard but seeing how Beatrice looked to be an adult, she figured that she could put her trust in them.

“Alright, it's fine with me as long as you get Reggie back to me in one piece” She laughed and ruffled her daughter's hair as the other teens cheered. 

“So what's the plan” Reggie asked as she walked off the porch with her new group of friends. And at the point the 3rd evil idea of that night passed through Shauna mind.

“Hey Reg,” Shauna hummed “You don’t happen to have any eggs back in your fridge” an evil grin grew across her face.

* * *

The group made their way to New Valley, giving Reggie appropriate time to rest whenever she needed to and get off of her injured foot. Reggie was honestly a bit blown away by how nice they were, she recalled the comment Beatrice had made, maybe she really did need to rethink her friend group.

They had filled Reggie in on the whole egging the resident mean girl’s house, which reggie was down for and managed to sneak out a couple cartons of eggs out of her house without her mom asking too many questions. But then again her mom was pretty cool, honestly if she had given her advice notice her mom probably would have bought them more eggs. 

They all had the opportunity to talk and discuss just how shitty of a person Claire and her friends were and Reggie got to tell some of her own stories, which many were new due to the fact she was slightly older than the group, a grade above them as well as being about a year and a half older. On their way around the neighborhood they ran into some friends of Reggie, luckily not the ones who had ditched her, who were willing to lend them some TP for their prank. They however, could not get the opportunity to sneak out and partake in said prank.

They went house to house, purposely avoiding Claire’s so they could save it for the end. The teen and demons donated a good portion of their own candy to Reggie as she didn’t get to get as much as they had earlier, and it only felt fair since they managed to score so much already. It helped having a demon on their team tho, Beetlejuice made have stolen a few dozen candy stashes after they left the door ways.

Once the time finally arrived the sun had gone down due to the late hour it was, they of course had to stay after the curfew but that was the best part of an unofficial curfew, hardly anyone upheld it. They just had to make sure no roaming police officer saw them and they would be all good. The quartet of trouble makers could currently be found behind some bushes in Claire’s yard that were meant to give the occupants of the home privacy, however made a great hiding spot instead.

“Ready?” Shauna asked the group, grinning evilly. She received a mix of replies alongside their signature evil grin that Reggie seemed to adapt to very quickly. They passed around a handful of eggs to each person. The group of tricksters got to work immediately. Each person having either two or three things of TP and several eggs in their grasps.  
As they quickly got to work TPing the tree’s, house, and honestly anything they could cover in toilet paper they began tossing eggs. They of course avoided windows which would alert those inside until the end. The best part of the whole thing was that Beeltjeuice or Beatrice snuck off without Reggie noticing and got to work doing more serious vandalism. 

BJ was able to cover the roof with TP pretty easily, that was easy to explain away, just say he had a really good arm, the other idea he had planned, he would have to keep his mouth shut about infront of Reggie and the rest for right now. He didn’t want them to be mad at him, but this little bitch deserved what he was about to do. 

Beetlejuice effectively spray painted the entire garage door located at the back of their home with an ugly drawing of Claire, credit to a Beejfq. And since he had the time and magic capabilities while being summoned, he could get some sweet sweet revenge for his Lyds! Beetlejuice took the petty rout, maybe a bit dangerous, but non the creatures involved were venomous so he figured Lydia couldn’t get too pissed off at him.

Over the years Beetlejuice has took note of some of the more fun fears breathers seem to harbor, fear of spiders was a good one, so he said goodbye to some of his eight legged snacks and gave them a new home in the bed sheets and pillow cases in the pinkest room of the house. He easily assumed that was Claire’s, that and all the pictures of herself littered across the walls. Which of course, Beetlejuie vandalized with a sharpie. God/Satan he was loving this.

He was gonna put a snake in the toilet or maybe some good old fashioned sewer rats when he felt a familiar tug of his name being called. It was only once and he had recognized who was calling him so he had no fear of being banished. So with a snap of his fingers, Beetlejuice, appeared next ot Lyida who had hid behind a tree. 

“Careful with the teleporting Beej” Lydia laughed.

“Its all good, babes” He cackled and looked around the other side to see Shauna, Dani, and Reggie finishing up thier own works of art. “Ya know if you plan to keep that Reggie girl around your gonna have to tell her about me” he gave her an evil look.

“She is nice yeah?” Lydia had followed Beetlejuice’s gaze to the older teen, a light red blush came across her face as Reggie turned around and noticed Lydia watching her. Reggie gave a wide smile and waved at Lydia before chunking another role of TP across the yard. Lydia panicked and shrunk back behind the tree.

“Very nice,” Beetlejuice cackled after witnessing his love struck best friend just run from a smile. “So you gonna talk to her, ya know since its pretty obvious you like her” he laughed as he squatted down next to his friend who had slid down the side of the tree to her spot on the ground. Wrapping her arms around her bent legs. 

“What! I don- I mean I do, but not like like I uh, umm” Lydia rambled, only getting a knowing look from her demonic best friend “Ok fine I like her!” She admitted. 

“Ain’t gotta tell me, babes. I already knew it” Beetlejuice laughed as he ruffled her hair “I am just glad I got someone to tease you about like you did with me and the Hotlands” He laughed, standing up and offering her hand, which she accepted.

“Hotlands huh?” Lydia asked “So are you still mad at em?” Beetlejuice shifted a bit.

“A little, but I think everyone regrets what happened on the roof… so” Beetlejuice shrugged again.

“Well, that's good, if you guys are gonna keep trying then I suppose I can try with Reggie” Lydia laughed with her new found confidence. Beetlejuice patted her on the back and shoved her from out behind the tree to the other three teens that were already making their way over to them.

“Go for it kid” He laughed. Lydia stumbled, only to be caught by Dani and Reggie and send a glare back to Beatrice who just cackled. 

“So Lydia, ready to start nailing some windows” Shauna laughed, tossing an egg up and down and catching it in her hand. With positive responses from the group they made their way, nailing every window they could with a raw egg. And as expected all the outside lights cut on and an angry man began shouting as he made his way to the door. 

Claire and her friends could be seen from one of the upstairs windows shouting down at the yard after seeing the mess that was made. However another scream echoed from behind the bitchy teenager and each girl shrieked as only Beetlejuice knew what they had found.

“Gotta love spiders” Beatrice cackled, only getting odd looks from those that heard. They teens attempted to regroup, but Reggie was slower due to the boot. They wouldn’t leave her behind however, Lydia went to help increase her pace back to cover as they would continue to watch the reactions of the house's occupants.

However, that is not what happened. A bright light from a flashlight shown directly on Reggie and Lydia’s backs and a man’s voice shouted something along the lines of “I am calling the police” alongside a multitude of profanities 

In a panic Shauna and Dani shoved Beetlejuice forward and ordered him to help the other two girls. He did just that, running towards them and throwing both over each one of his shoulders and all five of them booked it to the nearest unlit place they could find, the park.

* * *

Without a doubt Claire’s fathered had called the law, of course they would consider egging and TPing a house worthy of a call to the police. The teens of the group found this fact hilarious, however the demon of the group has actually vandalized a few things that the others were unaware of, so there was that. 

Dani and Shauna heaved cold breaths that burned their lungs as they finally reached the park. Thankfully his by the thick plant life that overtook the area of the park they were in. Shauna hung off of Dani’s shoulders in order to support herself.

The two teenagers turned as they heard the familiar raspy breaths of Beatrice, who still carried Lydia and Reggie on each shoulder. 

They laughed at the sight, they could have sworn this is the first time they actually saw Beetlejuice run. Even his breaths could be seen in the air due to the dropping temperatures. The park was poorly lit and cold as the demon finally caught up to Dani and Shauna. 

They both collapsed to the ground laughing, still half way in tangled with one another for warmth. The watched as Beatrice effectively stumbled and almost tripped, catching themselves by floating however cause the two teenagers to fall into a mess or arms and legs on the cold grass. 

Laughter erupted as Beatrice breathed baby pent over and out of breath, holding up a single finger that translated to ‘give me a second’. 

Dani and Shauna cuddled closer together as a cool breeze blew by and watched as Lydia and Reggie attempted to untangle themselves. They were certain they would get hell from Lydia for not helping them, but this was Lydia and Reggie’s moment.

“Hold on” Reggie said as she attempted to move one way only to head but Lydia. “Sorry” she mumbled as Lydia aced her off and rubbed her head. They attempted the same things a few times only to almost repeat the before injury. Lydia began to grow impatient. 

“Stop for a second would you!” Lydia Shiites as she grabbed Reggie’s wrists and held her arms up. Reggie turned her face to meet Lydia’s. Lydia effectively entangled them, however they were still in such proximity when their faces met the noses almost touched. 

They both breathed, Reggie mumbling a sorry alongside a nervous laugh as the younger girl still had a hold of her arms, effectively taking charge of the situation. Their visible breath mixed in the air and Dani and Shauna held each other tight as they hoped the two would actually go through with a kiss like in the movies.

Red spread across Lydia’s face and what was already present on Reggie’s darkened as Lydia laughed aloud and slowly lowered the other girls arms. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be a bitch” Lydia finally said. Tucking her loose hair behind her ear as she made the statement. 

“Nah, don’t worry about it” Reggie responded, her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, but she was determined to keep her cool. God, since when did she have a thing for goth girls? Who cares, this one rocks! Reggie became lost in her own thoughts and didn’t return back to the land of the living until a familiar hand was presented in her face. 

Lydia had stood up and offered the taller girl a hand up, which she gladly took. Reggie wrapped both hands around Lydia’s as the stood. “Your hands are so cold” Reggie concludes and held Lydia’s hand between her and raised it to her face. Breathing her warm breath into them. 

The two just stared at each other for a moment before laughing from the sheer awkwardness of everything. Reggie released Lydia’s hand, however the second their hands returned to their sides, Lydia held right back into Reggie’s, fingers laced in a proper hand hold. 

They turned to face the others of the group who had remained suspiciously quiet. In that entire awkward mess, Beatrice, Shauna, and Dani has all caught their breaths. They were currently standing together, Beatrice being the taller of the three stood behind the other two who hugged onto each other. They made cutesy eyes at the two girls like they were watching a box full of puppies stumble around and play. 

Lydia and Reggie were immediately embarrassed, Beetlejuice, however came to the rescue. Beatrice made their way around to the two embarrassed teens and hugged them both tightly from behind. 

“Come on ya bunch of red faced tomatoes, it’s pumpkin season” Beatrice lectures. “And I think we have to get bean sprout here home, don’t we?” Beatrice chuckled, placing one hand on each girls back and giving them a shove forward. The two stumbled closer to Shauna and Dani and once again the group was consumed with laughter, however this time much less nervous. 

They began to make their way through the park to the other side closest to Reggie’s home. Each teen was seemingly paired with another. Beetlejuice had been part of the plan to make sure Lydia and Reggie got some time to bond since it was obvious they had feelings for each other, however Shauna and Dani had not realized they had done the same thing. 

Shauna and Dani’s hands never left the hold of the other’s. They were too caught up in each others friendship and the entire match making between Lydia and Reggie to have realized they had made the same amount of progress. It was no secret, well it was, but both Beetlejuice and Lydia had known Dani liked Shauna. And even though simply holding someone’s hand didn’t mean they were romantically interested, the best relationships formed from those that started out as friendships. 

Beetlejuice was so proud, but somewhat sad. His old self from a few months ago would have done the exact opposite, made sure non of them got together. However, he cared too much for his friends and they made sure that he felt they wouldn’t abandon him. So no matter what the little voice in his head was saying or freaking out over, he was happy for them.

“Hey Beet- Beatrice” Lydia corrected. “Why did you get so quiet back there?” Lydia asked a crooked smile across her face as she turned to face her demonic best friend. Beatrice just shrugged in response. Dani and Lydia looked at each other, both being on the inside of their hand hold before each reaching out a hand to Beatrice.

Beatrice happily took each teen’s hand and they made their way to Reggie’s house with everyones finger laces with others.

* * *

Lydia walked Reggie to the door of her house, while the other three waited at the bottom of the porch steps. The watched as Reggie hugged Lydia and waved them goodbye before starting to head inside. However, before Lydia could turn and leave Reggie asked Lydia for her phone, or at least that is what they assumed as Lydia handed her phone over to Reggie who began typing.

Reggie handed back Lydia the phone and pecked her on the cheek with a kiss. The other two teens and demon watching from afar desperately tried to see Lydia’s reaction despite not having the ability to see through the back of her skull.

Reggie waved everyone bye again before walking inside and shutting the door. Lydia turned around, face as red as a stop light, holding her phone up with the screen on a new phone contact with the name Reggie alongside a skateboard emoji, a heart emoji, and a kiss mark emoji. The onlookers cheered as Lydia met them at the bottom of the porch.

“That's my girl!” Beetlejuice shouted, in the excitement he had started losing his disguise. His suit was the first to appear and by the time they made it out of Old valley, Beetlejuice was his usual self. “They grow up so fast” He mockingly said as he wiped a fake tear from his eye, which only got him eye rolls and a shove as well as a complimentary ‘shut up’ from Lydia.

* * *

Before the house came into sight, Lydia stopped the group and asked Beetlejuice if it was ok for them to banish him back to the ghostly plane. Beetlejuice, reluctant by nature, however much happier to be asked this time agreed and even told Lydia how to do it, although that part was unnecessary. 

“To summon or dispel, three times my name must be spoken, unbroken.” Beetlejuice chuckled getting a chance to use the old rhyme. He waited a second then remembered how he used the same words all those months ago, “Go!” A cheeky ass grin grew across his face as he quoted himself from when him and Lydia first played charades. 

This got him some eye rolls and a laugh from Lydia, who understood and found the reference to their past hilarious. Although she was much more concerned with how upset being banished made BJ in the past, she knew there wasn’t just a petty reason behind his reaction. It was fear of being invisible, fear left over from being invisible, she knew that feeling well. 

They walked in a few minutes of silence as the house finally came into view. “Was that any better than what happened at the hospital?” Lydia asked. Beetlejuice chuckled as he was met with three teenager’s looks of concern and anticipation.

“Yeah, thanks.” He laughed, “Much appreciated” He said in a false southern accent as a hat appeared on his head and tipped it up in response. Everyone laughed. “Still hate being banished, but happy that I actually got to consent to it this go around” He caught up to the three teens and gave them a cheeky smile.

“Glad to hear it” Lydia replied and their conversation from before continued. From an outside eye it was just three teenagers walking home from trick or treating, but to a knowing eye, it was four friends respecting one another's boundaries and looking after the other.

Everyone made it back to the house on the hill and gathered their things and made their way home. Beetlejuice and Lydia of course staying, while Shauna’s older sister dropped by and picked her up. Dani, however had no one to do that, and declined the Maitland’s offer to get one of the Deetz to drop her off at her house. 

“It fine, really.” Dani said looking a bit nervous, it was already dark, but seriously her step mom wouldn’t have checked the back door right? Dani had purposely taped the small metal piece in the door at the back of her house so the door would not properly shut. “I just need to get home soon, it's not that far of a walk and I don’t want to wake Charlette up anyway” Dani laughed and hugged Lydia and Beetlejuice goodbye and she was off.

She walked down the familiar path to her house, the cold was getting worse. Oh please, she thought, let this be the one time her bad luck streak gives her a break. She snuck around the large house she grew up in and made it to the back porch. 

The kitchen light was on and she could hear people talking, it was her step mom and her boyfriend, someone else as well, but Dani really didn’t care. She went to turn the doorknob, despite not even needing to if the tape was still there. However, the door did not budge. She knocked and braised herself for the yelling that was sure to come, however she watched as a woman's silhouette approached the kitchen window, peered out onto the porch and a minute later close the curtains. 

Dani tried the door knob again, however the door was still locked. She held her head to the door and listened as the talking grew distant as her step mom and whoever else was in the house moved to another room.

Dani breathed out an angry sigh, while taking her aggression out on the door. Dani let out a frustrated cry as she slammed her fist on the door and slid down to her knees, resting her forehead on the cold metal door. Of course she couldn’t be this lucky, when was Dani ever lucky.

Dani bundled up in a jacket from her school bag and grabbed her things. Wiping off some of the makeup from her costume in the process. She didn’t care, she was going to go to the small cafe she always went to when shit like this happens.

“I hate this so much” Dani said aloud as she walked into the quiet town. Holding back tears and breathing hard breaths that just burned her lungs due to the cold. “Why did dad ever marry that stupid bitch,” She breathed harshly, tears began to edge her eyes, she rubbing at them before they could spill over. “Why did he have to go and die on me” the dam finally broke. 

Tears fell down Dani’s cold cheeks as she finally made it to the door of the cafe, she had her hood up and never let her eyes leave the ground until she felt another un-moving door handle in her hands. She had grabbed the familiar handle without looking up, only to later realize the cafe was closed.

“What?” Dani said aloud while checking her phone, it was only eleven, they stayed open a bit later than that. Dani searched the door and window for any clues of why they were closed “Oh” a defeated sound left Dani as she read the words on an orange colored sheet of paper. ‘Closed after 8pm on Halloween day. Sorry - Management’ 

Right, they closed early on holidays. Great. Dani wanted to scream, but ultimately felt too tired to. She continued walking through town, this time with her head up, looking for any shop that was open and that might have heat. But a harsh cold wind ran through her, she shuddered as she hid from it between two buildings. At least it was a little warmer when out of the wind.

Dani breathed heavily onto her hands, trying to warm them, but it wasn’t enough her fingers had done went numb a long time ago, similar to her nose and ears. “This fucking sucks” Dani members as she slid down the side of the brick wall and wrapped her arms around her knees, which she held close to her chest and cried.

She had to think, where could she go? Shauna’s? Lydia’s? They were all the way across town, and it was so freaking cold. Shauna’s home would be closer, but Dani decided it would be best to wait a minute and try and warm up before heading back into the wind again.

However, a few minutes soon became half an hour, then another hour. It was 12:30 am according to her dying phone. The temperature had continued to drop and Dani had lost all motivation in even standing back up. Her thoughts ran rampant for too long and she cried until she felt too sick to even stand. 

More minutes ticked by, Dani had to put her phone on battery saver, which was hard enough when you couldn’t feel your fingers. It was almost 1am by the point, and Dani wondered maybe, just maybe if she just fell asleep and froze she wouldn’t have to deal with anything like this again. She wouldn’t have to deal with her neglective step mom and her druggie boyfriend and buddies. She could just be free of the cold nights, like she learned from the Maitlands, ghosts couldn’t actually feel temperature from the living plane, they could just tell the difference between them. 

The rational side of Dani’s brain that wasn’t completely frozen snapped her out of that depressing thought. “No” She breathed, laughing at herself “That’s stupid, if I can just get through tonight, and another 4 years of this, I can go to college and be free.” Tears edged Dani’s eyes again. “That was the plan 2 years ago, and that still is the plan now” She tried to stand only to return to her warm bundle she was in as soon as the wind hit her.

“Damn it” She cursed. Dani’s mind wondered. “Wish I had some of that cute lil hell flame BJ had earlier” Dani laughed. Then it hit her, Beetlejuice was a literal demon, an actual demon, who she knew how to summon. She didn’t entirely know how it worked, so she stood again and faced the harsh wind and went to shout, hoping that maybe if she shouted her could hear her from across town. 

“Jeez” She shuttered “Hope I don’t piss the Deetz off to bad for this.” Dani laughed at herself, she had been doing a lot of that tonight it seemed. “Beetlejuice!” She began as another strong gust of cold wind hit her. “Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!” her voice shook with her body. She waited for what seemed like forever in the cold before a familiar black and white striped demon finally appeared in front of her. “Thank god” She cried as she ran straight into the shocked demon’s arms.

“Jesus Kid! Your as cold as ghost!” Beetlejuice shouted as he wrapped his arms around the teenager. Squeezing Dani tightly, seemingly to share his own warmth before taking off his coat and wrapping it around her smaller body.

* * *

Moment’s early back at the Deetz residence. Beetlejuice was goofing off with the leftover costume props in Lydia’s room while Lydia wiped away her makeup and put her costume away. They were talking about the candy hall of that night, which was effectively dumped all over Lydia’s bed.

“Halloween Candy isn’t as good as the stuff Shauna bought me- but oh boy! Am I excited to dig into that mountain of sugar” Beetlejucie laughed.

“Me and you both, Beej.” Lydia replied.

“SO!” Beetlejuice shouted, floating over to Lydia “Side topic~” He hummed in a singsong voice “When you gonna call your new girlfriend” he teased. Lydia turned around red faced.

“She is not my girlfriend..” Lydia said, “yet” She added, red deepening. 

“I say go for it kid, you two seem to have it made for one another” Beetlejuice complimented.

“Wow, I figured you would be, ya know, a bit more of a turd, but I really appreciate the support” Lydia laughed, turning around to find a confusing sight in front of her. BEetlejuice playful tone from moments before did not match the confused and concerned look on his face.

Beetlejuice had stopped in the middle of the room when he felt the familiar tug of a summons. Why the hell was someone summoning him? It wasn’t someone in the house, so the only other people that knew was Dani and Shauna. 

“What's wrong BJ?” Lydia asked, causing Beetlejuice to look up, still not meeting her eyes.

“I am being summoned?” He asked no one in particular under his breath and before Lydia could say another word, Beetlejuice was gone. Beetlejuice felt himself be pulled through the different planes and locations. Worry on filled him, he was afraid something might be wrong. God/Satan he hated this he usually loved being summoned. 

What he found just made his heart sink. He found a shivering Dani, cold radiating off the poor teenager in an ally by many closed restaurants and shops that made up the town. Oh Jeez, was the only put together thought that seemed to pass through his head.

* * *

Dani snuggled into the oversized coat as the demon watched her from the side, he had squatted down, knees bet so that he was looking up at her rather than her looking up at him. Beetlejuice rested his elbows on his elevated knees and laced his fingers together to make a prop for his chin to rest. He was clearly waiting for a response, Dani didn’t care at that very moment, she finally had warmth, Warmth!

Tears peaked over the edges of Dani’s eyes as she lifted her face out of the stinky old coat, on holding it up with her numb fingertips around the large collar. “It smells so bad” She whined “But its so fucking warm” a pause “How is it so warm?” Dani finally asked, Beetlejuice chuckled.

“Well for one thing” Beetlejuice began to say as a harsh breeze almost knocked him over from his unstable sitting position, it was cold enough to make him shiver a bit, and he was a demon. “You are practically an ice cube and the other reason being, it is blocking this cold ass wind” He laughed as he floated up to his normal position, leaned forward and knees still bent as he held his hands to Dani’s shoulders and herded the half frozen teen back between the two buildings, away from the wind’s direct reach.

“That's a fair point” Dani laughed through the disgusting striped fabric. She held the nose under the fabric despite the smell in an attempt to bring the feelings back to it. 

“Ok, kid, explain. Now.” Beetlejuice finally ordered and gestured his hand out to emphasize his concern and confusion. Dani only laughed as she returned to her spot on the ground, back against the brick wall. Beetlejuie joining her minutes after, repeating the same pose, however a lot more open as he was less affected by the cold.

“Got locked out again” Dani laughed “My step mom, Charlotte is a serious bitch sometimes” Dani looked over to see a very angry Beetlejuice, his thick eyebrows has contorted along with his mouth into something between a scowl and glare, but it was not directed at Dani. “What’s that face for? I called you like you said I could.” Dani asked, Beeteljuice’s expression shifted to something softer.

“And I am glad for that kid, but like, just a curious question” He wrapped his fingers into a lazy fist and rested it against his face, causing his cheek to squish a bit. “Now here me out” He began “How upset would you be if she just went missing, like no trace” He removed his hand and gestured with both this go around, opening his fingers in a such a way to translate that it was a plausible option to consider. Dani couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yup, straight to manslaughter?” Dani laughed, looking up at the night sky between the two buildings they sat between. 

“I would call it Bitch slaughter” Beetlejuice began in the same tone as before. 

“Of course you would.” Dani laughed “I am used to it Beej, it isn’t the first time she has locked me out and it won't be the last” Dani looked down and Beetlejuice watched a look of despair cross her face, even for just a moment. “I don’t understand why she didn’t just let me in this time though, she saw me.. Ya know? She has in the past, let me in I mean, after seeing me and she was up and awake, but she just left the room.” Dani’s face twisted into something sour and she looked like she was about to cry again.

“Kid” Beetlejuice began, not sure of what to say or if he could say anything that would make the situation better.

“I don't know” Dani shrugged harshly and took in a hard breath that made it obvious the teen was fighting back tears and getting upset at this point. However the puffiness of Dani’s eyes and the dark rings under them made it clear that she had already hit a breaking point. “It just makes me wonder if all those nights I spent outside” another breath “That stupid bitch was up, knew I was out there, and would rather me be on the street” tears began to flow “Even though I am her stupid step daughter” A broken breath “I dont care if she doesn’t love me, she is legally responsble for me, she doesn’t get anything of my dad’s without me” A cracked voice and half strangled sob was held back by the teen’s small frame. 

Dani closed her eyes tightly to fight back tears, and was failing miserably. She felt an arm wrap around the back of her shoulders and pull her closer. She wanted to cry, to sob, scream even, but she was just too tired, too cold. That was when a warm light leaked through her eyelids causing her to crack her eyes open and see a warm light and feel the warmth that radiated off a small flame. It was the small flame of hell fire Beetlejuice had summoned earlier, it held a soft glow as it floated in front of the teen.

The entire area lit up with warmth, the wind still blew harshly around the building, preventing the warmth form escaping the alleyway. Dani leaned onto the side of Beetlejuice chest and he wrapped his other arm around her, resting his chin on top of her head, holding her tightly in a hug similar to those he had observed between a parent and child, between Lydia and her growing list of parents.

“I am sorry, Bud” A raspy voice broke the silence “I really am, parents suck sometimes… adults suck… why do you think I am best friends with a bunch of angst teenagers” He began to joke, he got a snotty laugh from Dani, who had began crying heavily into the demon’s shirt.

“Your an ass” She mumbled, he only hugged her tighter. 

“And your getting snot on my shirt” He replied snarkily. Dani raised away from the demon a few moments later with a half laugh and a mumbled apology. “Kid, have you smelt my coat? I obviously don’t mind a little snot” he laughed in his familiar raspy voice. 

“That's true” Dani laughed, wiping away said snot and tears onto the sleeve of his coat. Bad idea, now the stink was stuck in her nose. Gross gross gross. Beetlejuice chuckled as he watched the teen panic a bit, at least there was some lighthearted fun in this emotional train wreck of a situation.  
“Adults do suck” Dani began “I just wish my dad was still alive, ya know?” Dani positioned herself on the cold ground and wrapped the coat around herself like a blanket and leaned her head back onto Beetlejuice. 

“Where you and your dad close?” Beetlejuice asked, his expression was unreadable. Dani couldn’t even tell if his hair had changed colors because of the dim light and the yellow flame, however she assumed it had turned into something similar to blue or purple as it normally would in situations like this, at least there was an obvious green.

“Yeah, he was really old though” Dani laughed “Not many teenagers get to say their dad was in his sixties,” she laughed. Beetlejuice chuckled a bit.

“Who knew breathers got busy that late in life” He laughed, Dani couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah, his first wife died way before I was born and apparently my mom was really young when she had me, right out of highschool. Not exactly a hallmark or disney teen drama story huh?” Dani jokes.

“Hey, your talking to a jumbled mess of demon lineage here kid, I am plenty of hot mess on my own, just cause your mom and dad were like two generations apart doesn’t strike me as the weirdest possible arrangement” Beetlejuice began.

“Your right, it could be worse, I could have been born a stinky booger like you” Dani teased as she leaned her head back to look up at Beetlejuice who made a playful pouty face. 

“Oh no! My dead, unbeating heart.” He cried dramatically “You have broken it” they laughed.”So how did you get stuck with Bitchlette?” Beetlejuice finally asked, attempted to combine Charlotte and Bitch as a joke, it just came out sounding really weird, but Dani appreciated the attempt.

“Dad had a thing for younger woman I guess” Dani began “She was a gold digger, he knew that, but I guess he thought I needed a mom since my biological mom hit the hills after I was born. She couldn’t handle the entire political scene with being with a more wealthy dude” Dani explained. “My dad’s side of the family wasn’t exactly thrilled to have a bastard in their mits, and with mom being 19, I highly doubt she wanted me at all” Dani laughed all though her face was sad and betrayed her happier sounding tone. 

“Needed a mom? Kid I may not have the best example of a good mom personally, but I have a ** great ** example of what they are not. Was your dad senile? How did someone who locks their own kid outside win mom of the year in his eyes?” Beetlejuice ranted.

“She was nice to me in the beginning, or at least in front of him” Dani shifted in her odd striped bundle “Then when Dad died, she did the full disney villian switcharoo” Dani gave a half hearted laugh. “Mom’s just suck, my first one bales on me and then my second one could care less if I got eaten by coyotes” Dani complained.

“Can’t say I disagree Danno, My mom is a literal she demon, queen of bitched, at least I am free of her for a little while.” Beetlejuice paused “Ya know, we could feed your stepmom to a sandworm too if you want?” He asked, Dani burst out into laughter.

“I will remember that.” Dani replied. The night wasn’t so bad anymore, Dani was really happy she called Beetlejuice, he really knew how to cheer someone up. Even if the jokes were violent and homicidal ones directed at charlotte were probably not jokes, it still helped a lot. “At least with my mom being a dead beat, I can’t really hate her, honestly I would have ran away too if I had the opportunity” 

“That is a whole ass mood kid” Beetlejuice laughed “If I could have gotten away from Juno like my dear old pop’s did, you better bet your ass I would have been far gone.” He laughed.

“I forgot, Lydia mentioned you went looking for him right?” Dani began, receiving a nod from the demon letting her know the information was indeed correct. “Sorry you couldn’t find him” Dani frowned. “I sometimes wish I had the resources to find my biological mother, but I don’t really know if it would be worth it… she probably has a life of her own now..” Dani paused “Do you hate your dad?” She finally asked.

Beetlejuice’s gaze had went to the night sky above them, it was mostly clear despite some clouds the wind had blown in. “I used to, when I found out he was the reason I am the way I am, the reason I was banished, I did for the longest time. But I can’t say I do anymore.” Beetlejuice returned his gaze back to Dani, who had given him her full attention.

“What do you mean, the reason you got banished? Was he a criminal or something?” Dani asked, now fully invested.

“Haha no kid, he was a mutt and a bastard, like us” He laughed. “He was a mix between two rent species of demons, which aren't uncommon they are just shunned, just classic bastard kids.” He explained “Demon society is a shit show, in some ways it's better than what you breathers have, but sometimes it is worse” Dani just nodded along, not sure of what to say, but didn’t want Beetlejuice to change the subject. “Basically Juno had a one night stand with dear old dad, ended up with me, and for a demon like Juno who was part of a Clan to “taint” the blood line with “hybrid filth” was a major no no” Beetlejuice concluded. 

“But that was her fault, not yours. No one asks to be born. So why were you punished?” Dani went off, only stopping herself a few moments after her outburst after seeing Beetlejuice’s expression changed into something more of humor.

“Calm down kid, the way it worked out is a lot better than the ‘ideal’ version” He laughed “If dad didn’t run off, Juno could have killed him to redeem herself and then as for me? Wouldn’t have been pretty if they rest of the family found me, just like your dad’s family, no one is fond of some bastard” He laughed.

“Well I guess it's good that your still here..” Dani began.

“Guess” Beetlejuice interpreted with a laugh. Dani rolled her eyes.

“I am glad nothing happened to you when you were little, there, happy?” Dani corrected with a laugh. “Still sucks that you never got to meet your dad though.. If you couldn’t find him, with as persistent and stubborn as you are, do you think he is still alive? I wonder often if my mom is, morbid I know but still.” She gave a half hearted laugh. 

“He is still alive” Beetlejuice replied, his tone more emotionless and his face appeared more serious.

“What! How do you know?” Dani asked, confused as to how he would know, was there a detail she was missing, Lydia said he never found his dad. 

“Cause I did find him, I lied to Lydia” He finally admitted “Which I am going to tell her about, not you.” He glared “I will get less shit if I come clean rather than someone else's snitching on me for lying” He pointed his finger at the teen who held their hands up in a mock surrender. 

“So, why lie in the first place then?” Dani asked, returning her arms from her mock surrender to the warmth of the coat.

“Because” He paused “I wished I never found him, it would have been better if I didn’t.” The demon sighed, “If I could find him that means he was traceable and neither him or his family deserve shit from his past popping back up, me included” Beetlejuice huffed and placed his chin in his hand which was propped on his knee as he looked away.

“He has a new family?” Dani asked the obvious question first.

“Yeah, he found him a nice wife and they have a son I believe” He smiled at Dani. “Pops completely changed his name and appearance, he was pretty difficult to track down” He laughed

“Beetlejuice, I never thought I would say this, but I think you are one of the most mature people I know, especially when it comes to adults” Dani concluded and beetlejuice gasped dramatically.

“Low blow bud, Low blow” He repeated.

“I mean it, if I found my deadbeat mom, or found out she had a new family. I would probably be pissed and want to go and flaunt my existence to her new family. You on the other hand, care more that there was even a trace back to his old life, you were concerned about his and his new families well being” Dani hugged “Thats pretty fucking mature dude” A laugh slipped out as she concluded the last part and Beetlejuice could help but chuckle.

“I didn’t think of it that way” Beetlejuice shrugged. “I thought you said you didn't hate her?” He laughed.

“I don’t, doesn’t mean I am not pissed off at her” Dani supplied.

“Thats fair” Beetlejuice mocked the same tone Dani had earlier when making the same statement which only got him an eye roll. Beetlejuice looked like he was about to say something when they heard a noise from farther back in the alley. Both demon and teenager grew silent. 

“What the hell?” Dani mumbled as she slowly crept on all fours over to the noise, which was in a bag of trash the had been ripped open and contents littered the ground. Beetlejuice did not make much distance himself, but leaned forward onto his hands and watched the teen investigate the noise.

“It's probably just a raccoon or possum” He chuckled. Dani only looked back at him for a moment and gave him a cheeky look before getting closer. Beetlejuice began to make his way over himself when Dani finally reached the trash. The trashing suddenly stopped as Dani got closer and the teen let out a gasp.

Beetlejuice almost jumped out of his skin, of jeez did it scare Dani? Was it actually a skunk? He wouldn’t be allowed back in the house if he got sprayed by a skunk. Then all of a sudden Dani stuck her hands into the deflated bag. Beetlejuice let out a strangled cry.

“Wait, don’t” He attempted before he watched the teen finally removed her hands from the trash only to have a small black blob in her hands. He was unsure of what it was until it lets out a tiny mew and its ears perked up.

“Its a kitten!” Dani cheered and walked on her knees back over to the demon who sat up normally. 

“Huh who would have guessed.” Beetlejuice said simply as he watched the kitten snuggle up into his coat that was wrapped around Dani. 

“He’s so cold” Dani whined as she let the poor thing snuggle under her neck and into the coat. Beetlejuice couldn’t help but laugh.

“That's one way to change the subject” Beetlejucie supplied as he scratched the top of the small black cats head, Dani moving her own head back to let him do so. The small kitten began to purr, which caught them a bit both off guard at how trusting he seemed to be.

“We should take him with us, there isn’t any other kittens so chances are he was separated” Dani pleaded. 

“I ain't got no issues with a cat, Deetz might be another story, but..” He shrugged as he expressed his lack of care about if the Deetz would actually give a shit or not. Probably.

“I wish I could keep the little guy…” Dani began “Oh!” She cheered as she remembered “Its after 12 right, that means its Lydia’s birthday, he can be her gift” Dani laughed.

“That sound great kid” BEetlejuice laughed as the teens excitement “Speaking of, hey bud what time is it?” Beetlejuie asked,.

“Umm” Dani hummed as she went to check her phone which was on the verge of death. “Like almost right at 2:30..” she turned back to the demon.

“Lyds is probably worried why I suddenly vanished, plus you probably need to sleep right?” Beetlejuice asked, stretching his legs out as if he was getting ready to stand up soon. 

“Probably” Dani laughed. “Teenagers are basicaly nockternal so I think I will be ok on the sleep part.” She attempted to joke.

“Hmmhmm those bags under eyes say other wise” Beeltejucie tased, Dani simply flipped him off. “Wow, guess I am the muture one, that was just childish” He stuck his toung out at her.  
“Your such a hyprocrit” Dani seethed. Beetlejucie only laughed, standing up and offering a hand to Dani. 

“Well sucks for you because you got something in common with this hypocrit” He poked fun. 

“Oh yeah what?” Dani asked snarkily as she took the demons hand, standing up.

“We’re both bastard sons of some shitty parents and dead beats” He laughed and made his way to the corner of the alley to see if the wind was still just as harsh as earlier. The small hell flame did not follow him and rather floated near Dani as if it was the teens to begin with.

Dani froze at that one silly little word, not because it sounded wrong but because it sounded right. Between the whole emotional mess she just went through with Beeltejuice and them actually opening up to each other, she was a bit nostalgic and began remembering the small specific things she picked up on from how Beetlejuice had always chose use around her. That was the thing though, Beetlejuice never addressed Dani as a her, but never directly as any other pronoun or gender either, it was always kid or bud.

Beetlejucie turned around to see what was keeping his friend so long only to see Dani spacing out again with a shocked look taking over their features. “Hey bud, you ok?” He asked, making his way back over there, but was immediately interrupted.

“You said ‘son’” Dani mumbled in response.

“ Haha what?” Beetlejuice asked in genuine confusion. 

“You called us, bastard ‘sons’... You always call me bud too, or Danno or Kid.. I want to know why” Dani got straight to the point. Beetlejuice gaze met Dani’s eyes and back to the ground. His posture made it obvious he was nervous and a hand rubbed at the back of his neck, fingers scratching the back of his hairline.

“Oh jeez kid, did I fuck up… I didn’t mean to I-”

“No”

“Huh?”

“I just want to know why?”

“Why ...?”

“Yeah” Dani paused. “Why you chose those words, those phrases…” Dani added, completely recognizing the same behavior beetlejuice had when they had the sleep over and he thought he screwed up when making their outfits. Dani still loved the tux. 

“You breathers are so confusing…” Beetlejuice admitted anxiously “I try to read your ego’s and emotions and this is what I get, look kid I am sorry I-”

“You didn’t mess up BJ” Dani finally informed him.

“I didn't?” 

“No, I haven't been open about it, not even to myself really, but I think meeting you might have changed a bit. Dani said, snuggling up to the kitten that was still curled up in the coat draped over them both.

“I have?” 

“Yeah.. I always thought I just hated the way I looked, like any other girl, but then I started wondering if maybe I hated my body, because it looked like a girls” Dani let out a heavy breath, this wasn’t easy, but it was easier with Beetlejuice “I didn’t like entertaining the thought, but then when I met you, you started using all these phrases or nicknames, never once did you use my full name, I just wanted to know how you knew what words felt right for me, without me not even knowing them at first?” Dani finally put everything into perspective.

“Oh.” Beetlejuice said simply. “Breathers sort of radiate emotions, your’s around certain things was more negative compared to Lyds or Shauna, so I just treated you the way that made since. I wasn't sure what it was, but I honestly find all breathers confusing.” He shrugged, nervous and awkward. 

“I guess that makes sense” Dani finally responded. “Hey Beetlejuice…”

“Hey Danno?” He asked mocking Dani’s hey, laughing a bit nervously trying to lighten the mood.

“I liked it when you referred to me as a son rather than a daughter… It just feels right, so does Bud” Dani paused “Is that ok?”

“Why are you asking me kid, I ain’t you or society, i am your friend, I am gonna love and support you no matter what you tell me to call you or anything like that.” Beetlejucie responded with a soft smile, hitting the mark directly on the head.

“Your such a jackass, you know that” Dani laughed, wiping some of the tears they hadn’t know had began to form in their eyes. 

“Hey! I am trying here, you breathers are super confusing, and you have been super vague.” He ranted before lowering his tone and the soft look returning to his face “You know I am pretty stupid kid, think you could spell it out for me?” 

“I thought you sucked at spelling” Dani laughed.

“I do” He admitted, “But you get what I was saying.” He placed a hand on their shoulder.

“Ok” Dani said, taking another breath, finally decided to commit to what finally felt right, that interal mess of tangled feelings and anxiety finally hit its boiling point, and Beeltejuice had somehow calmed it. “I think ‘He’ suits me a lot better than ‘She’.” Dani finally said.

Dani waited for Beetlejuice reaction, but couldn’t exactly focus. Dani’s shoulders seemed to loosen a bit as even just a little stress escaped them. He had finally said it outloud, it was something he had never done, not even by himself.

Beetlejuice smiled, “I think I get it now, or at least, you do” he laughed, “If I am reading your emotions right, then despite the anxiety that entire statement was associated with positive feelings rather than negative.” He smiled at Dani. 

Dani smiled, he could have sworn after saying that and getting such a supportive response from BJ, he could feel the exact same ‘emotional radiation’ that his demon friend could apparently pick up on. His anxiety was a hot mess right now, he felt like his fight or flight response could be triggered at any second, but he also felt so happy he could cry. 

Beetlejuice walked over to his friend who was completely lost in thought again, tears streaming down his face, however, accompanied by a smile, which made Beetlejuice’s heart proud. Beetlejuice hugged Dani tightly only to loosen ever so slightly when a mew could be heard from between them.

They both laughed as a small black kitten poked its head out from between the two hugging boys. “Me too little dude” Dani laughed as he petted the kittens little head. Whipping away a tear Dani looked at Beetlejuice and asked “How difficult do you think it would be to get a trademark on ‘Bastard sons of some shitty parents and deadbeats’? We could sell merch or hoodies with funny sayings on them” Dani joked.

Beetlejuice let out a loud bout of laughter as he ruffled Dani’s hair. “You kill me kid, I feel like an old man after all that.” He laughed. “We will have to see about that trade mark though, maybe we can convince Delia to help us out on that” He winked.

“Goodness” Dani laughed “You sound like my dad after we had a fight, he always said I made his hair go grey faster” He laughed “Old dude already had white hair” He looked up at the demon who was unusually wrinkly and his hair had turned pure white. Beetljeuice had turned into an old man version of himself.

“Oh jeez kid, I think your dad was right!” Beetlejuice joked aloud and Dani couldn't help but burst into laughter, which startled the kitten in his arms a bit. However the small cat was far too cold to leap out of Dani’s arms quite just yet.

Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and his appearance returned to normal. “Well you certainly put me through enough of a scare when I first got here, I think that qualifies me as a parent” Beetlejuice argued.

“Uh huh? So you're supposed to be my new dad?” Dani laughed and rolled his eyes, purely joking.

“Why the fuck not! I always wanted a kid of my own” Beetlejuice paused “Thats a lie,” he laughed “But your the exception, your my son now and there is not a thing you can do about it” Beetlejuice ruffled Dani’s hair harshly and gave the kid a shove. 

“Hey!” Dani shouted as he was shoved, holding on the unhappy kitten a bit too tightly causing it to sink its claws into his arms. “Shit, you just caused the cat to scratch me, jerk!” Dani replied trying to be harsh but couldn’t be with how hard he was laughing. 

“Ok fine, ‘Pops’” Dani laughed. “I am ready to go when you are, ya know before Lydia sends a search party after her favorite demon?”

“I’m her favorite?” Beetlejuice said in mock surprise, which only got him another eyeroll. “Alrighty Kid lets go.” He walked clover to Dani and held tightly onto his shoulder and snapped his fingers and Dani could feel the unfamiliar feeling of being teleported through space, it was really weird, he wondered how the small black fuzz ball was holding up. Not so good seeing how it had dug its claws into Dani’s chest.

* * *

Lydia was on her bed texting Shauna after she had given up trying to get ahold of Dani. Dani’s phone had died before him and Beelejuice even left, while Lydia’s messages had not went through at all due to poor service and the phone being on battery saver.

All of a sudden puff of smoke appeared in the center of her room and she immediately knew it was BJ. What she wasn’t expecting was to see Dani wrapped in beetlejuice coat holding up a black kitten.

“Lyds were back!” Beetlejuice called aloud “Also, this is my new son!” HE cheered as he clamped his hands over both of Dani’s shoulders, he laughed.

“Don’t worry we brought you back a son too!” Dani replied, holding up a small black kitten towards Lydia’s direction. Lydia was completely speechless, but amused nonetheless, relieved as well. Whatever those two, or now three thanks to the cat, had been through they had made it back alright. But they did have a lot of explaining to do, that was for sure.

* * *

#### Bonus

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I tackled these issues decently, let me know if I screwed up at all when representing some things or if you have any ideas about how it could be made better. - either way hope you guys enjoy <3


	16. Cat's out of the bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia names a cat, Beetlejuice and her open up about a few things and all hell breaks loose downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence and Language.
> 
> Will do spelling and grammar check later on ~ Thanks for your patience! Love you guys! <3

After all that happened on Halloween night it was about time to get the adults filled in on a few things, specifically adults that are living and not demons. Although Beetlejuice did a pretty good job on his own up until this point.

Despite Dani’s insistence to keep the entire thing on the down low, Lydia called Shauna who abruptly went off. Apparently Shauna had been Dani’s go to friend about events similar to this, and Shauna was so ticked off that she forgot to lower her voice which brought both her mothers into her room.

Which wasn’t a bad thing, one of Shauna’s mother was a social worker and knew Dani personally. Lydia eventually sent BJ to go fetch her parents and the maitlands ended up tagging along and the whole thing resulted in two large families communication over one teenager’s phone to sort out the whole issue with the obvious child neglect Dani has suffered.

However, the individuals present were nothing but supportive of Dani and made sure he knew he was loved. Delia made it her mission to warm the poor boy up and get him something to eat, while BJ decided he was going to stick by Dani’s side, since he was the kids new dad after all. 

BJ remained quiet for the most part unless he needed to answer any questions, even if it seemed a bit out of character, no one questioned it. In truth Beetlejuice was cooking up all the dad jokes he could possibly come up with to use on Dani later. Honestly he had enough to write a book at this point.

An agreement had been reached and Shauna’s mothers came and picked Dani up and would sort the whole thing out the next day. The reason Shauna’s mother, the social worker, Taria, wanted to bring Dani to their house despite the early hour was so they could get all the details before he fell asleep or forgot any.

That and they already had a guest bedroom specifically for Dani and his visits. The Deetz were more ignorant when it came to the entire situation, however they knew Dani was in good hands, especially with a guardian demon watching over him as Lydia jokes. 

And it was probably all for the best because the Deetz and Maitlands had their own upcoming drama to deal with concerning their beloved demon.

* * *

Present time: It is almost five AM and Lydia and Beetlejuice are hanging out on Lydia bed. No one had really fallen back asleep and instead decided to become productive seeing how the entire situations had them all riled up a bit. To say the least, Dani had a whole army at his disposal if he so chooses to use against his step mother.

Lydia had not been asleep whatsoever due to her concern over Beetlejuice’s unplanned summoning so the lack of energy was pretty obvious thanks to the bags under her droopy eyes. Beetlejuice was worn out as well, but seeing how he was still in the living plane and no one had banished him he figured he would behave for the most part and take it easy.

Both Lydia and Beetlejuice were laying on Lydia’s bed, Beetlejuice was on his stomach with pillows tucked under his chin and chest, while Lydia sat up holding her pillow like a stuffed animal. The small black kitten from earlier joined them, lazily playing with them with its new found large stomach thanks to being fed a good bit of leftover lunch meat that worked as a decent substitute for cat food. 

A raspy laugh entered the silence of the room, “So do you think your folks will let ya keep the little lard?” Beetlejuice asked, tugging lightly at the small kittens tail to get its attention from Lydia who had been playing with it moments before.

“Maybe, I really hope so” She laughed “I have already come up with a name for him and a good reason to convince Dad and Delia to” Lydia snickered and she scratched one of the kitten’s ears. 

“Oh and what would that be?” Beetlejuce asked as a shit eating grin grew across his face, he knew this would be good, Lydia’s creativity really was interesting when it came to certain things. And just as BJ thought, Lydia had put a little bit more thought into the name than most teenagers might have when receiving a little dumpster kitten. 

“Ok so” Lydia repositioned herself to face Beetlejuice better as she began explaining and talking with her hands “Cats eat snakes right? So I figured that would be a decent enough reason to keep a cat other than me being their ‘beloved daughter who has done no wrong’-“ 

Beetlejuice cut her off with a violent snort which caused them both to laugh. “Sorry - Sorry” Beetlejuice breathed heavily “continue” he bit back another laugh.

“As I was saying, cats eat or chase off snakes, which have been an increasingly more apparent problem ever since a snake loving demon moved in” Lydia tapped on her chin as if in thought before giving Beetlejuice a sarcastic look, he only grinned and snickered. “Then I got to thinking, there is a famous son of Zues in greek mythology that just so happened to slay a Gorgon whose hair consisted entirely of snakes.”

Beeltejuice nodded along , not really following but still listening and waiting for the punchline. Lydia continued “So why not name our new little defender” She picked the little kitten and held him up all simba from the lion king style to her room’s light “Perseus, or Percy for short” she laughed and looked back at Beetlejuice as she lowered the kitten back down to the bed.

“I still think we should call him a dumpster baby or a trash gremlin” Beetlejuice snickered as he rolled over on his back, using the same pillow to prop his head back so he could still look up at Lydia. “Butttttt, not my cat not my responsibility” he snickered.

Lydia gave him a half playful half evil glare, “Oh no you dont” She plopped the kitten down on Beetlejuice face, who did not move, possibly out of fear of being scratched. The kitten simply laid down peacefully on the demon's face before a mumbled response came from the demon.

Lydia took her best guess of what he said and continued “Technically you have joint custody, ‘Mr. its a green card thing’ you my demonic pal, will be stuck on litter box and puke duty” Lydia explained. Beetlejuice promptly sat up which lead to the kitten digging its claws into his face for dear life, Beetlejuice only got a few syllables out before a consiten sounding of “ow ow ow ow” followed as he peeled the small feline off his face.

He sat the kitten down on his chest and he layed back down on his back. “Forget it kid, I screwed up with the whole marriage thing but this cat is your kid not mine, I already got one” He explained, waving on finger in the air as the kitten curled up and sat in the iconic ‘loaf’ position on his chest and resonating a loud purr now that the scare was over.

“Oh right! You lowkey adopted Dani” Lydia laughed and Beeltejuice rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah so I am already busy pre planning a spot in hell for Dani’s step mom, so I can’t co parent this little trash can menace, thank you very much” Beetlejuice explained.

“Thought you were banished from hell?” Lydia asked playfully.

“I am, but every good demon has connection, and I will gladly make use of them for Dani, or you, or shauna, or honestly any of you crazy ass breathers.” He paused “Even the Maitlands” he laughed. Lydia leaned forward and got ready to tease him.

“Softy” She replied simply and snickered as she got the biggest eye roll she probably had ever received from Beetlejuice the master of rolling his eyes that they actually fell out of the socket once. 

Some silence passed before Lydia took notice of the kitten’s loud purring and content nature as it half slept on the demon's chest, Beetlejuice had let one of his hands wonder close to the cat and he was petting the side of its face with a single finger, as to not disturb it.

“I don’t know what surprised me more, you being a cat person or the cat actually being able to stand the way you smell.” Lydia laughed and received a characteristic shit eating grin from her best friend. 

“Lyds, I don’t call him trash gremlin for nothin” He laughed “We found him in a literal trash bag, so I really doubt he minds any smell for that same reason” He snickered and pet the kitten’s head. “And I am not a cat person, cats and I just have a lot in common” Beetlejuice concluded as he began to list off his points on each of his fingers. “We both like chasing and eating bugs, sleeping, breaking things, randomly screaming-”

“Ok i get it, demons and cats are practically the same species” Lydia laughed.

“More or less”

* * *

The two laughed before Lydia was reminded by her own internal dialogue that it was in fact technically her birthday and she still had a birthday gift from a certain demon she needed to cash in on. 

“So” Lydia said.

“So” Beetlejuice echoed as he continued to pet the small black kitten newly named Percy.

“It’s officially my birthday now, which meansssssss” Lydia said as she leaned back, her hold on her ankle the only thing keeping her from falling backwards. “I want some answers,” she said impatiently.

“Right, of course you do” Beetlejuice said a bit taken aback but didn’t let it show, to be honest after all that had happened that night he had forgotten all about his deal to answer her questions. The original plan was to let Lydia forget or wait until way later in the day, so the time was more appropriate for his _plan_ to work. “I can’t back out of a Birthday promise can I?” He laughed.

Nothing was every predictable at the Deetz residence, so he figured it would be best to just play the next few hours by ear. **_ Honestly what could go wrong? _**

“Ok, so I am tired and really should have started a list of all the crap I have wanted to ask you since about two months ago, but” Lydia began before putting and taking the cat from Beetlejuice and setting it in her lap, this allowed the demon to sit up properly and prepare himself for the amount of explaining he would have to do. “How about you start from the beginning, why were you on the run?”

“I already told you, babes!” He playfully complained.

“Remind me then…” Lydia responded a bit annoyed.

“Ok, well where should I start?” He scratched his dirty facial hair. “I guess the long story rather than the short one would start after I went back to the netherworld. Ya know the whole ‘left for dad’ thing.” He laughed, though still a bit nervous thanks to Lydia’s moodness. 

“Oh right, you went looking for your dad, but couldn’t find him. I remember you said something about trespassing or being where you shouldn’t… so that's why you got in trouble? You were looking for your dad in a place you shouldn’t have been?” Lydia began putting things together, Beeltejuice had to admit the girl was smart.

“Almost got it, Lyds.” Beetlejuice half confirmed, lacing his fingers together and resting his now upright body and chin on his hands as they were propped by his knees. “Thats is mostly how it went down, just a few details in between.” Beetlejuice let out a breath and took another in ready to give the big long explanation he dreaded since he came to the conclusion that he would need to tell Lydia the truth.

“So I lied about a couple things” He began as he scratched at his facial hair, a nervous habit. Lydia looked as if she was about to say something, her mouth opening and closing however once it closed her face tightened as she gave Beetlejuice a look that did not sit well with him at all. He through his hands up in a mock surrender. “But hey I am telling the truth now, that's what matters right” he pleaded as he watched Lydia’s face loosen a bit and he let a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“So when I left all those months ago I did go lookin’ for dear ol’ pops, followed his trail and what not” He began “Managed to trace his connections all over the darn afterworlds, and at one point his trail up and vanished.” Beetlejuice explained.

“Trail?” Lydia questioned, figuring it was probably something like how you can track a package or money, but the nether world was strange and unusual in its own right and she was rewarded for her curiosity with a very curious answer.

“Yeah, everyones got a trail, scarecrow” Beetlejuice’s eyes widened, he was horrible about getting off on tangents, and Lydia just gave him a great one to hop on. “Between my hopping between the netherworld and the living world I managed to start being able to pick up on the trails breathers leave and those that connect them once they become ghosts” He grinned, pretty proud about his ability that he seemingly forgot to brag about at some point in the past.

“Like a literal trail or ?” Lydia began before being cut off.

“A little bit of both, it's a lot more of a mess with you breathers but if you start with a ghost and work your way out, usually you can pinpoint who the ghosts family is purely off of energy and as I said, following the trial” He said cheekily.

“Right, so you tracked your dad but lost his trail.. What's that got to do with you lying? You said you didn’t find him and now I know that is because you lost his trail…” 

“Well about that… I may have found him???” Beetlejuice shrunk back ready for a bad reaction but instead he was wrapped in a hug from his best friend.

“That’s great Beetlejuice! I am happy for you” She smiled and Beeltlejuice’s guilt went through the roof. “How did you find him? How did you get picked up his trail again?” She paused “Wait why would you lie about this, this is good news.. Right?” Now it was Lydia’s turn to shrink back a bit, concern written across her face. 

“Well” Beetlejuice swallowed hard “When I lost his trail, It ended near a certain after world I had a few connections with. Decided I would go and see if they knew anything… long story short is that they did, but the thing about getting said information was that I had to sneak into a little place called sanctuary” 

“That’s one of the afterworlds you mentioned before, right?”

“Yeah, well it's a big ‘no no’ for demons like yours truly to be in a place like sanctuary, they really don't like us there.” He breathed “But I snuck in anyway, and while I was there I picked up another trail, one that was familiar but not at the same time.”

Lydia watched as Beetlejuice began to loose focus and cooler colors began to mix into his electric green hair. His eyes began to avoid the area of the room she occupied. 

“I met someone there, and -” He cut himself off, tone completely changing alongside his posture to something more happy, lying again or not telling the full truth would be more accurate. “And they gave me some really good advice about a lot of things, most importantly how to find my pops and what to do when I did.” 

Silence covered the room for a solid minute. “Ok..” Lydia said.

“So thanks to _her_ and my connections at Sanctuary I had another lead” Beetlejuice began with more confidence. “I managed to track daddio to a little neitherworld town, got to check in and see what he had been up to for all these years. Was almost impossible to recognise him since he changed his looks and covered his trail pretty well”

“The Neitherworld? Is that different than the netherworld, why does it sound so similar?” 

“Not sure, kid. But yeah it's an extension of the same dimension that the Netherworld exists in, it's a nice chunk of soil that's a good cross road between the afterworlds, although it's usually a one way trip to any other afterworld unlike the Nietherworld, you can come and go from there as you please.” 

“So you went to Sanctuary, which isn’t a place where you can come and go from, but you found you dad, that's good, right?”

“No really.. I don’t mean to brag” He chuckled “But my tracking skills are pretty damn good, but” his tone darkened a bit “If I could track him then that means he is trackable, even if Juno’s out of the picture for right now, it doesn’t mean she wont be forever and I really don’t think anyone deserves having to have a run in with her.” 

“Beej,” Lydia rester her hand on Beetlejuice’s shoulder to comfort him, “Your afraid Juno will find him? It is really sweet that you care even though he is a, you know..”

“Dead beat?” Beetlejuice supplied

“Yeah that” Lydia continued “But isn’t your mom’s punishment to basically be under house arrest in the netherworld?” 

“Yeah, but how well did that work out last time?” Beetlejuice snarkily replied.

“Right…” Lydia rubbed at her tired features. “Ok, but what was the other stuff you lied about, you acted like it was more than one thing… what are you leaving?” Lydia was finally getting closer to the answer. Beetlejuice shifted a bit uncomfortable. 

“Like I said I ended up stumbling on a familiar, but I had never met em before...” Beetlejuice finally managed after a few moments.

“Right, through that weird connection thing you were explaining.”

“Yeah” Beetlejuice replied not adding anything and watching the small kitten intently.

Lydia began to ponder in silence, what had BJ so upset or uncomfortable, who could this be. She relayed the information she already knew, he could track breathers and ghosts through their connections to one another, so who would be familiar yet unfamiliar? “Who was that connection with?” she finally asked. 

Beetlejuice mumbled.

“What?” Lydia asked before growing impatient as Beetlejuice shrunk back and mumbled again. “Beej” Lydia seethed, annoyance very clear.

“It was you” He finally barely said loud enough for here as he looked up to meet her shocked eyes. Lydia was a smart girl after all and in the moment everything clicked. Who would she be connected to in the netherworld, actually no, it was an afterworld, it was Sanctuary. Hadn’t they talked about sanctuary before now?

Back that night around a month ago, she had woken up from a dream about her mother and went to the kitchen only to be met by two glowing green eyes that startled her half to death. Beetlejuice had said something then about Sanctuary, but it wasn’t the main thing to come out of what he was saying. He had been trying to explain to her why she couldn’t see her mother, why her mother didn’t stay around as an earth bound spirit.

The connection was to her mother. Beetlejuice had met Emily Deetz in Sanctuary and kept it hidden from her for over two months, two months maybe longer depending on when this all happened, he could have told her where her mother was. He could have told her that she was ok, told her where she was told her how to see her, helped her see her mother. They were friends weren’t they, so then why did he hide this, why did he lie?

Lydia’s mind was racing and Beeltejuice could swear he saw every fast moving thought bounce around in her brain through her eyes and expression alone. Surprise soon turned to anger, and green soon turned to purple.

* * *

Silence filled the room and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, Beetlejuice had completely avoided looking at Lydia after he saw her expression change. He knew he was in for it, and he most certainly was. 

“Why.” Lydia finally said under her breath, her tone cold. It was more of a statement than a question, either way it was something he wasn’t supposed to answer and that was blatantly clear. Lydia tightened her hands into fists as she violently turned her body towards Beetlejuice, now standing on her knees as if ready to jump to her feet.

The sudden movement caught Beetlejuice attention and he lowered himself a bit, like a scared animal, however he did not move from his spot on the bed. He waited, listening to her angry breaths as she attempted to calm herself or bite her tongue, Beetlejuice couldn’t completely tell.

“Why! Why would you not tell me this!” She shouted, tears peeking out the corner of her eyes “You found _her_” The tears fell “Found my mom and you keep it a secret?! You knew, you know- AUGH!!!!” Lydia gripped at her hair and pulled on it harshly. Beetlejuice raised his hands as if he wanted to grab her arms after she returned them to her sides, fists still clenched and strands of hair between her knuckles.

“Because-” Beetlejuice tried to supply before being cut off.

“Because what?! She screamed “Literally what reason would be good enough to keep this from me?! From dad!!” Lydia’s shoulders were shaking now and she had lowered herself a bit, still on her knees. “You absolute selfish prick!” her face was red and hot with tears and anger. 

Beetlejuice sat there for a minute, just looking at Lydia. He was doing his best to read her expression, because he was currently on egg shells. Lydia had already began slipping into insults, which from their past arguments he knew she was seriously upset, all logic went out the window and only pure teenage emotion and angst remained. Not that he didn’t think he deserved every bit of anger she was directed at him.

Beetlejuice managed to gather himself and take a breath, “Lydia im sorry” he began.

“I don’t want to hear it!” She seethed. “We are best friends right?! Why would you keep me from her?” the tears slid down her face as her eyes grew increasingly more bloodshot.

“Because-” He stopped, Lydia took another harsh breath but allowed him to speak this go around. “Because I knew you would react like this, you would rush head first into the damn afterworlds to find her if you knew where to look!” He began. Lydia opened her mouth to say something, but it was Beetlejucie’s turn to interrupt her. “No, Lydia.” He stated. “You literally rushed into hell to get away from me and find her less than a year ago! I was not risking that again!”

“And why not! You were all for taking me to the neitherworld right? That's what this ring is for right?!?!” She shouted, spit hitting his face as she spoke and gestured her hand that still had strands of hair wrapped around it. Showing off the ring he had given her hours earlier that would protect her from having her life force and soul sucked out if she was to visit the nether world.

“Kid, you don't get it! Sanctuary is a one way stop!”

“Oh but you can get in and out just fine and dandy?!”

“I am a demon! Your a breather!”

“Then break my mom out!”

“That's not possible kid, it can take up to hundreds of years to have a soul transferred out of an afterworld!” Beetlejuice explained, voice lowering and becoming a bit more calm. 

“You literally break the rules all the time BJ!” Lydia had calmed some but fresh tears began to poor out of her eyes “why can’t you do it for me then, I am your best friend” Lydia’s energy seemed to have been completely depleted and she sunk down to the bed. “She’s my mom, I love her” Lydia cried, shoulders shaking and soft sobs escaping her.

At this point Beetlejuice’s dark blue and purple hair reflected both their current emotional states. He reached forward to rest his hand on her shoulder after taking a shaky breath he didn’t know he was holding after her outburst. What he had not expected her to slap his hand away, clearly she had not lost all her energy or rather her anger had given her a second wind.

“How is any of this fair?!” 

“Babes…”

“You get to see your dad! Get to connect with him, even though he was a deadbeat! My mom and I actually had a relationship!” Hot tears rolled down her face, some falling onto beetlejuice’s hand which he had not yet moved from where she had slapped it. “I thought you knew that!” A sharp breath “Knew how important she was to me! She was my world, my destination!” 

Beetlejuice retrieved his hand, he had began shaking a bit too from his own mixture of emotions, anger begins to creep into them. He had been as emotionally mature as he could this far into this hot mess, now he was getting pissed. Of course he knew how important Emily was to Lydia! But what Lydia clearly didn’t know was how important she was to him, she was his best friend, his little sister, the reason he had done what he did. 

“Of course I knew how important she was to you!” He growled “That's why I did all this, just wait and see” He shuffled around in his pocket for a minute but soon stopped. Clearly he found what he had been looking for but hesitated to remove it from his coat pocket. “I did all this because you care about her and had a relationship with her, I wanted to do something special because you have something unlike what I have ever had with my parents” He finished, voice becoming more hushed as he spoke.

Lydia watched as Beetlejuice’s expression and volume deflated. “Beej..” She began to say, before being cut off.

“- And you got it wrong Lyds… I didn’t get to ‘connect’ with my dad..” He breathed a shaky breath “Once I found him, I left.” He said, tone growing cold as he began to remove his hands from his pocket and take his coat off. He folded the slaves against the coat as he laid in his lap. 

“What do you mean you left?” Lydia asked, now a bit distracted by this new information, wiping her wet face. 

“He started a new family, got himself a new life, a wife and had a kid. I have not place in that, and no business screwing with it” He said, looking down at his coat. It was lumpy and old and covered in hundreds of years of gunk. 

“But he is your dad too” Lydia began. 

“And Emily is your mom, the only reason I found her was because of your connection with her” he laughed. “I couldn’t use my connection with my dad to find him, because there wasn’t one” he finally met her eyes “Your an amazing kid, babes! You can’t just throw your life away and be reckless, I think I am a pretty good example of what being reckless gets you” he laughed and Lydia couldn’t help but chuckle a bit to.  
“Beej I - I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said all that - I”

“Don't worry about it kid, you had every right too”

Beetlejuice ran his hands over the outside of his coat pocket, feeling the items he had looked for moments before through the fabric. He opened his mouth as if to continue what he was leading into about Emily. What he had done, what was the reason he had kept this secret, his plan. 

Lydia’s headache from screaming and being upset, but she remained quiet for a minute, resting her throat and watching as Beetlejuice acted as if he was finally going to tell her what he had been hinting at. The whole point of him bringing up Emily. But just as all good things seem to be interrupted, Murphy’s law made its presence known.

A loud crash echoed from downstairs and shouts as well as what sounded like the screams of Barbara and possibly Adam became caught in Beetlejuice and Lydia’s ears. The two instantly dropped what they were doing which included Beetlejuice's coat and Percy. Once the two made it out the door and leaned over the railing to look down at the commotion, all hell broke loose, Beeltejuice managed to jump the railing and practically pounce onto someone. Lydia quickly made her way down the stairs only to be met with two knew faces, her scared family, and a pissed off demon.

* * *

Moments earlier the Deetz and Maitlands were attempting to make sense of the entire night, all sitting around the living area discussing tomorrow’s plans and overall concerns. Their hearts went out to Dani and they really wished there was more they could do, but for the time being most of the conversation was each adult attempting to assure the other their best was good enough.

Charles and Delia had become significantly closer with Adam and Barbara, and the same could be said if the roles were reversed. They each played an important role in raising Lydia, however they also played an important role in becoming one another’s support. The Maitlands were very understanding, though they had their limits, those limits were usually met by Beetlejuice. Delia and Charles were a lot more in the Maitlands range of emotional understanding. 

Their conversation was soon muted by the increasingly loud shouting coming from Lydia’s room. Each adult was a bit on edge, however Charles recognizing his daughters voice put them at ease and asked them to listen first. Charles had a valid point, as they listened they discovered there wasn’t anything immediately wrong, but rather Beetlejuice and Lydia had gotten into an argument.

This wasn’t uncommon between the two best friends, however what did concern the teenager’s quartet of parents was how upset she sounded, from their spot in the house it was hard to make out everything that was being shouted. However, it was clear Lydia wasn’t calming down. 

Delia had begun to bite at her nails, a nervous habit Charles was not fond of, mostly because of the complaining he would hear from her after. With a deep sigh and a huff as he stood and stretched his legs a bit he began his way across the living room.

“I will go see what they are fussing over now…” He paused “Better not be that damn cat” He half mumbled which got a chuckle from each person left in the living room. However before Charles could make it to the stairway he was startled by a sudden loud thud.

He stepped back away from where the sound seemingly came from.. The wall? Barbara, Adam, and Delia all watched Charles approach the wall again, shocked looks across all their faces. Charles wondered if he had knocked something over by accident despite his distance from the wall and lack of mess on the floor. 

What none of the adults were expecting were to hear more thuds and an odd scratching noise coming from the other side of the wall before a human sounding groan. Voices soon followed as the scratching noise correlated with the location of a flowing white line resembling chalk drew across the wall. It was a doorway...to the netherworld?

“Owwwww” A deep voice echoed, sounding as if it was on the other side of the wall. “Honey” It growled “You forgot to knock”

“Sorry Dove!” A higher male voice returned with a whine. The knocks echoed and the lines radiated a white light as the doorway opened and they were met with a slender tall man in a suit as well as a smaller more round man with matching attire. Each suit was a dark red and had familiar swirls on them. 

“What on earth!” Adam shouted as he stood behind his wife, Barbara glared at the intruders not sure of their actions. Delia quickly made her way to her husband who met her almost half way after backing up from the two strangers.

“May I help you?” Charles asked agitated and confused as to why two ghosts decided to stop in for a visit. He hoped they were ghosts, or rather that hope was based on fear that they might be demons like Juno. The only thing he had right about that fear was their relation to the hated demonic mother.

“Why yes you can!” Honey chimed happily. He stepped in to the light of the room, revealing curly red locks and the start of a small goatee which was hardly visible from the lightness of his red hair. His face and hands were littered with freckles and he had the most trusting smile, like a salesperson had a baby with a missionary. 

The tall ginger excitingly looked at the adults and then to his companion. A short heavier man with short sideburns and no other facial hair. His hair was dark and he had few defining features unlike hsi red headed friend, all accept for his eyes. While one eye was a piercing blue, the other was grey, it shared the same lightness as the blue one and shine. 

“We are here for Lawrence, or as you might know him.. Beetleguese” The shorter man explained.

“What business do you have with him?” Charles sad, asserting himself a bit more now that he felt he had more control over the situation. It was clear the two men were meant to be representatives or businessman based off their attire or attitude, but something was still off about them. However, Charles couldn’t seem to put his finger on it.

“That really doesn’t concern you now does it?” The tall man whined, looking at his partner who smirked eyeing him back. 

“It most certainly does, he is a member of this household” Delia said as she puffed out her chest and walked to the side of her husband attempting to be intimidating, and if she failed her much taller and more broader husband would hopefully compensate. 

“No darling it doesn’t, and he ain’t no member of your household.” The shorter more gruffer man replied as he rolled his eyes. “Lil’ Ol’ Lawrence is a demon, one that is in a lot of trouble back in the netherworld, and not your concern” He said as the rolled his wrist, almost emphasizing the strange gloves he wore. Both men had matching pairs of leather looking cloves with odd silver geometric designs on them. “Now where is he so we can drag em back, it will be better if we get the jump on em” He snickered “Unless you want your house to be turned upside down. 

Adam and Babara were not liking this one bit, between the fact there were strangers, ones that appeared to be ghosts like them, in their home and the fact they just radiated a threatening aura. The Maitland’s became aware of the feeling when the shorter man began the action of rolling his wrist, it was the gloves that seemingly were the source of the odd energy they were feeling. 

“Beetlejuice is our friend” Adam loudly stated as he mirrored Delia’s bold movements. “Surely we can talk about this and work it out like adults.” Adam explained, lowering himself a bit.

“Yes!” Barbara came to her husband's rescue “We understand Beetle- Lawrence’s behavior is sometimes… questionable and it was much worse in the past, as Adam said, we should talk this out first.

“Orrr” The red headed man rolled back on his heels, something that reminded Barbara quite a bit of Beetlejuice. They were calling him Lawrence, even she had forgotten that was his given name until they brought it up, did they know him from before? “We could do it the fun way” he snickered.

And with a flick of his wrist the silver markings on the gloves radiated a white glow which only spread around the neck of the glove. The radiating light grew into something more, chains seemingly appeared from no thin air around the neck of the gloves and lashed out at the Maitlands. 

Like snakes the chains curled around the ghostly couple, lifting them off the ground. The Maitlands shouted in protest as the cold chains seemed more capable of ghostly powers then themselves. 

“Honey!” The shorter man shouted at the ginger who only responded with a pouty look. He began to laugh “I swear, you will be the death of me” he laughed as he placed a hand over his face as if to conceal his disbelief, but lack of surprise.

“Oh you still love be Dove,” Honey cooed as he leaned closer to the shorter man, newly dubbed Dove. “I always enjoy getting my hands just a little dirty,” he paused before looking over the maitlands who had continued to show in protest. “And look at how they squirm, surely that will get little bug’s attention” Honey hummed.

The Deetz had rushed over and began pulling at the chains only to have the same chains grab at their own wrists. Charles yanked his hands away and soon went to assist in removing the chain making its way up Delia’s forearm. It was clear as long as the chain’s did not have a full hold on you could escape, however that could not be said for the Maitlands. That or maybe it had to do with the difference in state of being, could it be they chains would not latch on because Delia and Charles were breathers? 

That was a question for later as the Deetz had to retreat a few steps away from the chains which continued to reach out in their direction now that the seemingly sentient chains had gotten a taste for them. Before anything could be said or done, it seemed that the commotion had attracted the two from upstairs. 

Adam and Barbara shouted in shock this time, alongside Charles and Delia who once again had to retreat further away from the strangers as a striped figure fell from above. Beetlejuice had managed to quite literally jump and then kick the tall ginger, Honey, in the face. Bringing all three supernatural men to the ground with Dove pulling Beetlejuice off of Honey, who was left with a fresh foot mark on the side of his face.

“Beetlejuice” Lydia screamed from above as she watched her best friend land awkwardly after bearing witnesses to an impressive attack. She ran to the stairs and made her way down only to be quickly grabbed from the side by Charles who attempted to press Lydia between himself and Delia as Beetlejuice promptly went feral. (Or as much as they have seen him be thus far.

With a groan Beetlejuice yanked his arm back from Dove who had aggressively pulled him off of Honey. His hands morphed into claws, a gradient of red extending from the tips to the knuckles, something only Lydia and the Maitlands had ever got to witness. To say the least it wasn’t a pleasant memory for the Maitlands, however they were thankful the claws were directed at the intruders rather than them. The claws latching onto the ankle of Dove who let out a cry, more of shock and frustration than of pain.

“Why you insufferable bastard!” Dove growled out, each word seething hatred from his mouth. Dove wrapped a gentle arm around Honey who rubbed at the mark on his face. In an aggressive arm movement Dove slung his arm out, fingers extended before clasping them into a fist as the silver markings on his gloves radiated white light, similarly to what had happened moments earlier.

A monsterous growl erupted from Beetlejuice chest and his eyes radiated with intense green while his hair was a littered mix of red and green. The uncharacteristic aspect of his hair was that much of the green had remained, however this time it radiated almost as brightly as his eyes. Not so much it could be noticed in the light, but in the dark would make a fine source of light.

The chained pushed Beetlejuice back, only partially restraining him by the midsection with a loose grip. It was clear Dove’s attention was on Honey’s well being. The way the two held and touched each other with gentle and protective hands made it clear they were more than just acquaintances or business partners.

Beetlejuice remained partially on the ground, legs to the side at a somewhat odd angle, though nothing the Deetz or Maitlands haven't seen him quickly recover from before. When he grabbed at Doves leg, dove took the opportunity to shake his unsteady hold off and give Beetlejuice a good kick to the face causing him to fall back. 

“HEY!” Lydia shouted as she attempted to go to her best friend only to be held back by Delia who had a death grip on her shoulders. Dove helped Honey to his feet and easily supported the skinnier man’s weight. 

“Are you alright my dear” Dove hummed, deep voice resonating with the sudden quiet of the room. The Deetz and Maitlands stood frozen, though the Maitlands had not much of a choice. 

“I am” Honey hummed as he effectively cleaned any dirt from the shoe print on the side of his face off. “About to be even better” Honey said with an evil grin as he looked over at a severely pissed off Beetlejuice. A less prominent but still audible grow resounding form the demons chest as his ears pointed back ever so slightly and corner of his lip teased curling upward.

Honey twirled his wrist with one sharp motion and chains spread out and latched onto Beetlejuice just as the Maitlands were being held. Lifting the larger demon off the ground effortlessly. One of the chains curl around the unsuspecting demon neck and bring him forward in a more defenseless position with him arms restrained. Almost like a person hanging from a cross would hang if gravity was affecting them at an acute angle, what an odd parallel given the context. 

The silver chain’s end had a sort of claw, shaped like an arrow head or devil’s tail it curled underneath Beetlejuice chin and neck as it caused the demons head and neck to arch forward uncomfortably towards the ginger. Popping of knuckles could be heard as Honey closed his fist and then the painful noise of bone hitting bone as Honey punched Beetlejuice in the face.

The pure momentum of the punch leaves Beetlejuice face and head partially turned, despite still being restrained by the supernatural chains. Beetlejuice let out a growl, this time bearing his sharp teeth like an animal as his eyes seemingly flared a luminescent green. 

However, it became apparent to the Deetz and Maitlands that the chains had even more of an effect on Beetlejuice, where they touched his skin became a slightly darker purple. Not only that, but the chains were effectively restraining Beetlejuice, between his normal brute strength and magical capabilities the only time the demon could actually move was when Honey had hit him.

“See all better” Honey chimed happily as he closed his eyes and shook his hand loosely as if the shake off any pain he would have felt from such a hard hit. Dove gave Honey a smile and leaned towards the ginger only for him to do the same, their lips met as kissed each other softly. 

“Ok! Someone really needs to feel me in on some things.” Adam finally broke the tension, both violent and romantic apparently. “Why are we being attacked by an adorable gay couple?” 

Honey awed at the statement and the chains seemed to loosen ever so slightly on the Maitlands. “Now that's just sweet, isn't it love” ginger said to the shorter man. They began to rub their noses together, butterfly kisses. The Deetz and Maitlands only remained confused. 

They continued their adorable couple behavior until a raspy gagging noises resounded from behind them, it was Beetlejuice.. Of course. Lydia couldn’t help but laugh, this was Beetlejucie after all, of course he would gag when two adults kissed. Though that is just how Lydia saw it or rather hoped because she was desperate for some humor to distract her from her concern and confusion.

“What is this little bug, want some sugar too?” Dove mocked as he glanced over his shoulder to Beetlejuice who only rolled his eyes as dramatically as he possibly could. 

“Only if I can use my teeth.” Beetlejucie growled in response. The two men laughed.

“Shame” Honey teased “I was hoping to find out if you were as good a kisser as your mother” a devious tone sunk into his voice as he ran his finger down the side of Beetlejuice face before tipping his chin up. Though he had to quickly pull his finger away as beetlejuice attempted to snap at it. His teeth clacking together audibly.

Lydia as well as her parents and the Maitlands promptly had a holy shit moment, this had to do with Juno. Beetlejucie made another audible gagging noise while he stuck his tongue out more dramatically than the time before. 

“That's where I know you two from, your Juno’s side hoes” Beeltjeuice stated annoyed, one side of his nose rising with disgust and anger. 

“I always like the term sluts a bit more” Honey hummed “But hoes work to, I suppose”

“Not as creative” Dove added. “But cute.” Dove laughed as he aggressively grabbed Beetlejuice by the chin with his thumb, middle and index finger. Taking a moment to stare at Beetlejuice before a grin spread across his face and he visibly licked the side of the demon’s face.

Everyone aside from Honey and Dove cringed, including Beeltjeuice whose growl almost sounded like a whine. Lydia finally managed to free herself from her parents hold during the distraction. She ran towards the two men only to be grabbed by the shorter of the two.

“Hey!” She protested as the large hangr gripped her upper arm. “Let go of me you perv! Let BJ and Adam and Barbara go!”

“Oh I like this one, she’s feisty” Dove complimented “Was she the brat Juno told us about?” He asked Honey with guinea curiosity.

“I believe so, hard to miss with all the goth attire” Honey laughed “Though I don’t see how much good she would be to Juno, maybe boss lady will give her to us” He hummed. At this all four of the teens parents shouted.

“LIke hell!” Barbara growled out, her loud voice being the most prominent of the four in the situation. Given the destruction which the two men seemed to be enjoying with evil smirk on their face. Beetlejuice pulled harshly with arms and restrains, finally making some progress and moving himself forward enough to latch onto Dove arm with his teeth.

Effectively biting into the ghosts upper arm, causing the short man great distress. He shifted his arm to rid himself from the demon latched onto him like a leach before taking the opportunity to elbow the demon right in the center of the nose.

Lydia was quickly grabbed by Delia who had rushed in during the distraction, Charles placed the two behind him quickly in such a way to shield them. The Maitlands gasped as they got front row seats the the nasty elbow Beetlejuice just took to the face.

Beetlejuice shook his head as it hung low, face obscured to those in the room. His voice finally rumbled out as he raised his head, dark blood dripping down his face from both nostrils, “Bitch” he rasped out aggressively with a shit eating grin on his face towards the man who just had previously caused his injury. 

Things weren’t over yet, however both the Deetz family and the Maitlands felt a bit of confidence blossom in their chests after such a response and spectacle they had just witnessed. If Beetlejuice could keep his wits about himself, certainly they could, or at least for the most part.

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been a hot second so I hope it turned out alright.
> 
> I will reread once I get the chance to mend any parts of the story that may be broken, sadly I have been sick the past few days and havnt got to sleep so that may be part of the cause. However, not being able to sleep has given me more time to write.


End file.
